On Wednesday, Spanish giants Real Madrid resumed their Liga BBVA campaign, as they welcomed Real Sociedad to the Bernabeu in Week 17 of the 2015-16 season.
Fans dying to see 30-year-old superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in action again after a 11-day break were in for a show, as the three-time Ballon d’Or winner was named in the starting lineup for their home encounter.
The former Man United ace didn’t start the game well, though, missing from a spot kick in the 24th minute, having blasted his shot above the crossbar.
18 minutes later, however, and the Real Madrid ace was on the score sheet, this time converting from another penalty. 22 minutes into the second half, the Portugal captain secured his brace with a second goal, with the match ending 3-1 in Los Blancos’ favor.
Ronaldo’s two-goal haul against La Real took his tally to 57 strikes in the year of 2015, 37 in La Liga, a feat no other player in Europe can better.
Hail King Ronaldo!Watch his latest goal here: http://bit.ly/1mRuPqh
Posted by LiveSoccerTV.com on Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Impressive, right? It had many on Twitter hailing and praising Cristiano. However, a deeper look into this stat shows his goalscoring form isn’t as remarkable as everyone thinks.
@Champ_Ian posted on Twitter in an eye-opening tweet (credited to Voetbal Intl) that out of Ronaldo’s 57 goals in this calendar year, 25 came against Getafe, Granada, Espanyol, and Malmo in the Champions League. That tallies up to approximately 44%.
25 — Cristiano scored fifty-seven goals this year, 25 came against Getafe, Granada, Espanyol and Malmö (via @VI_nl). pic.twitter.com/KS4uEGRVPM
— Chef (@champ_ian) December 30, 2015
Furthermore, in no relation to his 57 goals in 2015, Cristiano has scored 50 penalties since arriving in the Spanish Primera Division back in 2009. This will do a lot to fuel the “Penaldo” chanters.
Popular belief among fans and pundits now is that the record Real Madrid scorer is losing his ability to influence big games, with the attacker drawing blanks in clashes with Barca, PSG, Atletico, and Sevilla this season, just to name a few.
Will this trend carry on into 2016, or will the Cristiano Ronaldo of previous years make his return?
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