Real Madrid vs. Malmo Analysis 2015: Cristiano Ronaldo Nets Goal 500, Ties Raul For Club Lead
Real Madrid picked up a huge 2-0 win at Malmo in the Champions League.
The story of the night was Cristiano Ronaldo picking up two goals that had eluded for weeks and finally eclipsing 500 career goals. With the tallies he now has 501 goals in his career. That also brings Ronaldo to 323 goals all time for Real Madrid, tying him with Raul atop the goal scoring summit of the club. He will get a chance to break the record this weekend when Madrid faces Atletico Madrid in a crucial matchup.
This was the first time in three games. The last time Ronaldo scored was a hat trick in the first Champions League match of the season against Shakhtar Donetsk. The two goals brought Ronaldo's tally to 10 on the year in eight games this year. Moreover, none of the goals were on penalties.
For the second straight game the superstar had 12 shots at goal (he had 14 against Malaga), but unlike the previous match where only two were on target, five were target in this match and two went in; the opposing goalie Johan Wiland made five saves on Ronaldo on the night, including an incredible tip that looked to be a certain goal. The 16.6 percent conversion rate is in line with Ronaldo's career numbers, but the more important take away is that he is getting these chances. That bodes well for an offense that has often looked dysfunctional without Gareth Bale or James Rodriguez.
The link up play up top is sometimes baffling and Isco, who has tremendous dribbling abilities is not particular deliberate of late in his passing. He is constantly dispossessed with the ball, resulting in a breakdown of the offense. He was dispossessed once on the night but had a game-high five poor touches while providing just one key pass and one shot on goal the entire night. This was Isco's chance to shine, but he has not made it work.