Lionel Messi was crowned the Ballon d'Or winner this past Monday before embarking on two straight, while Cristiano Ronaldo got back to work, looking to ward off a slow start to 2016.

Messi's first game consisted of a low-stakes Copa del Rey game with Espanyol. With Barcelona already holding a huge edge in the opener, the second was a mere formality. Messi started but was not a goal scorer in this particular game. The second game however was against Athletic Bilbao he had a rather quiet night, scoring a penalty goal and then getting subbed off early in the second half. He had just three shots at the goal, but the only one on target was the penalty goal.

Ronaldo's game was a tremendously successful one for the Portuguese superstar. A week ago he turned in a solid performance, getting a plethora scoring chances but finishing with no goals from 10 shots. He did get two assists, but likely deserved better.

On Sunday, Ronaldo got what he deserved, scoring twice in a 5-1 win for Madrid over Sporting Gijon. The first goal was a marvel as Ronaldo took a pass from Karim Benzema, controlled but had to do a 180 degree turn to volley it into the goal. It was a tremendous finish, the likes of which have been rarer from the superstar. Yet Ronaldo looked more and more involved in the buildup play and wound up with a more traditional goal off a brilliant rush from Dani Carvajal down the right wing.

Season Stats

Ronaldo now has 16 goals in 20 La Liga games to go with seven assists. He has 11 goals in the Champions League and three assists, bringing his season-wide numbers to 27 goals and 10 assists in 26 games.

Ronaldo is currently on pace for 30 goals and 13 assists this season in Spain, his lowest total since 2009-10 when he had just 26 goals and seven assists in 29 games for Real Madrid. That said, Ronaldo is starting to find some consistency in recent weeks. In the first 16 weeks of the year, he scored 13 goals and two assists for Los Blancos, but went scoreless in 10 of those matches. Since that inconsistent start, he has 14 goals and eight assists in 10 games, going goalless or assist-less in only one match in that stretch. He has scored goals in seven of those 10 games, indicating that the superstar is starting to find the consistency that has made him such an elite superstar.

Messi has 10 goals and four assists in 14 La Liga contests and is pace for 23 goals this season. He has a grand total of 19 goals and eight assists across 23 contests.

Of Ronaldo's 16 La Liga goals, four are penalties; Messi has scored two of 10 from the penalty spot in La Liga. Overall, Ronaldo has scored 21 goals from open play in all competitions, while Messi has 17 goals from open play in all of his games for Barcelona.

Calendar Year Stats

Ronaldo now has two goals and three assists in three games in 2016. Messi has six goals and three assists in five matches this season.

Winner

Messi played in more games than Ronaldo did this week, but the Portuguese player scored more goals than his rival.

Ronaldo now leads 8-5.

Next Up: Real Madrid travels to Real Betis on Jan. 24. Ronaldo failed to score a goal during the first match between these two teams. Barcelona meanwhile gets Athletic Bilbao on the road in the Copa del Rey on Jan. 20 before traveling to Malaga three days later in La LIga. Messi has scored two goals against Athletic Bilbao across four games thus far and had none against Malaga in the first match between the two clubs.