Real Madrid superstar Cristiano
Ronaldo entered Saturday's La
Liga clash against Sevilla one goal
behind Barcelona star Lionel Messi
for the league lead in goals this season. Ronaldo surpassed Messi's tally with two goals in a span of two minutes (36', 37') in
the first half of the match.

The 30-year-old Portuguese
headed home a cross from Isco
for the opening goal (No. 40).

He proved to be killer inside the
box seconds later, tapping home a
Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez with
his right foot (No. 41) to give his
club an early advantage in the first
half.

Ronaldo has 21 goals over his last
13 games. He has 42 goals in La
Liga and 53 in all competition.

He and Messi now each have three 40-goal seasons in La Liga. No other player has ever cracked the 40-goal threshold in a La Liga
season, per ESPN Stats and Info.


Ronaldo notched a hat trick in the 68th minute with another header. The race is on!

Sergio Ramos has branded Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo as "virtually indispensable" following the forward's
hat-trick heroics in their 3-2 victory over Sevilla in Saturday's "life or death" clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. The Portugal international scored a
quickfire double in the first half before
adding to his tally in the 68th minute,
ensuring goals from Carlos Bacca and
Iborra were not enough for Unai Emery's
men to get anything from a vital Liga showdown for both sides. Without Ronaldo's treble at the Ramon
Sanchez Pizjuan, Madrid would now be
five points adrift of Barcelona in the
Primera Division title race with three
games to go, but instead they are just
two behind Luis Enrique's men, for which Sergio Ramos is grateful to the Ballon
d'Or winner. "Cristiano is a incredibly optimistic player
who lives for goalscoring," the Spain
international told reporters. "He gets
punished by others when he doesn't. "He is virtually indispensable and
hopefully can continue his scoring streak.
We knew it would be life or death against
Sevilla, but we have got the three points
we came for." Sergio Ramos is traditionally a regular as
a centre-back in the Blancos' defence but
lately Carlo Ancelotti has decided to field
him in midfield - a position the player
says that he is still adapting to. "I'm just dedicated to taking orders and
try to give my best for the team," he
added. "Slowly I'm finding it more
comfortable in midfield. "For me, the important thing is that I'm
playing to a good standard, I don't care in
what position." Real Madrid are back in action on
Tuesday when they travel to Juventus for
the first leg of their Champions League
semi-final, hoping to defend the title they
won last season.