Cristiano Ronaldo did what he does best on Saturday when Real Madrid took on Getafe in their final La Liga game of the season — he scored. A lot. Ronaldo racked up a first-half hat trick, his eighth of the season, which not only gave him a bigger lead as La Liga’s top goal scorer this season with 48, but also a personal best of 61 total goals in all matches this season. (Barcelona’s Lionel Messi trails him with 56 goals on the season, with the chance to equalize or surpass that total in two remaining title games, two chances Ronaldo doesn’t have.)
Cristiano Ronaldo has now scored 61 goals in all competitions this season, a personal record in a single campaign. pic.twitter.com/OfvuoibNpq
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 23, 2015
Ronaldo’s day started off with a nice header in the 13th minute of the match.
Nineteen minutes later, Ronaldo would get his second goal off a perfectly booted free kick.
Finally, Ronaldo would end his first-half streak in minute 34 with a breezer of a penalty, awarded after Getafe’s Carlos Vigaray knocked down Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez in the box.
Ronaldo was subbed off at minute 58, probably to give others a chance to score, which they did. Real Madrid won 7-3, with second-half goals from Chicharito in the 47th minute, James Rodriguez in the 51st, Jese in minute 70 and Marcelo at 90.
Alas, the high scoring match didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, even with rival Barcelona’s earlier 2-2 draw against Deportivo. That’s because the team from Catalonia had already clinched the La Liga title last week. Real Madrid finished in second place, two points behind.