What a La Liga season it has been so far.

Real Madrid is in first place in the standings by just one point, Barcelona is on a big winning streak thanks to the dynamic South American duo of Neymar and Lionel Messi, and Atletico Madrid remains in third place.

One of the biggest story lines this season has been about Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo leads the league in goals scored this season with 28. Earlier in the year, Ronaldo had an incredible 20 goals in the first 13 games of the season, which at that rate, would give him a remarkable 58 goals in 38 games.

Lionel Messi currently holds the Spanish League single-season scoring record with 50 goals, which he set back in the 2011-12 season.

Despite the historically good start by Ronaldo, he has fallen off his mark lately. Statistically speaking, Ronaldo has just two goals in the last seven La Liga games. For two games, Ronaldo was suspended, and both of those goals that he scored came against Getafe on Jan. 18. Unfortunately for the Portuguese superstar, he has not found the net since then.

Luckily for Ronaldo, he and Real Madrid will play Elche in their next game. Elche has allowed the second-most goals in the league this season behind just Levante.

One factor that has certainly contributed to Ronaldo's slump is the absence of James Rodriguez. The 23-year-old Colombian striker broke his foot in a Week 16 match against Sevilla. There's no still definitive timetable for his return, but without Rodriguez on the field, Ronaldo has to deal with far more double teams against him than he previously had.

But, it's not over just yet.

Ronaldo still has 28 goals scored 23 weeks into this season. For him to break Messi's scoring record and hit the 51-goal mark, he would have to score 23 goals in the final 15 games. That's an average of just over 1.5 goals per game. Tough yes, but not an impossibility for someone like Ronaldo, who isn't just trying to pass Messi's record; he's also trying to surpass his career high mark. In the 2011-12 season, Ronaldo scored 46 goals, the most ever for a Real Madrid player in a season.

The year that Messi scored 50 goals for Barcelona he recorded eight hat tricks. Ronaldo has four hat tricks this season. Also worth noting is Ronaldo has 205 career La Liga goals. Argentinian great Alfredo di Stéfano has the second-most goals in Real Madrid history with 216, and Raul Blanco has the most ever in Real Madrid history with 228.

In other words, Ronaldo isn't just 23 goals away from (potentially) breaking Messi's single season scoring record; he's also 23 goals away from becoming the all-time scorer in Real Madrid history.

This Spanish League soccer season still has 15 weeks remaining, and nothing is set in stone. While Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are fighting for the No. 1 spot, Ronaldo is chasing history. Only time will tell if Ronaldo can break another record this very season.

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