Cristiano Ronaldo sets European scoring record, Real Madrid wins to remain La Liga favorite

Soccer has been played in Europe for over 150 years, in three different centuries, and in various competitions. And over all those years, at the highest level of competition, nobody — not a single player — has scored more league goals than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo set the record for most career goals in the top six European leagues — England, Spain, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal — with No. 367, a 27th-minute header in Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Valencia on Saturday afternoon:

Ronaldo’s goal gave Real a 1-0 lead, and looked to send Madrid on its way to a comfortable afternoon at the Santiago Bernabeu. In the end, it would be anything but.

Ronaldo missed a second-half penalty that would have put Madrid in control. Instead, Valencia nearly made them pay. Dani Parejo leveled the match at 1-1 in the 82nd minute with a stunning free kick. But in the end, on Cristiano’s day, it was Marcelo who took on the role of hero:

Marcelo sent the Bernabeu into pandemonium, and sent Madrid back to the top of La Liga six days after last weekend’s crushing Clasico loss to Barcelona.

Barcelona reclaimed first place with three points against Espanyol later on Saturday evening. But even after it did, Madrid retained a game in hand over its rivals, meaning it controls the title race.

With four games remaining to Barca’s three, and with Ronaldo back on the scoresheet, Real would appear to be the decided favorite to claim its first title since 2012. Ronaldo has been prolific in the Champions league as of late, but had gone four league matches without a goal. He snapped that “drought” — if we can call four games a drought — in style after a wonderful cross from Dani Carvajal.

We can call it a drought, of course, because over the years, a goalless day for the Portuguese superstar has been rarer than a goal. Saturday’s opener was Ronaldo’s 280th La Liga goal, and his record-setting 367th league tally overall across stints in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the English Premier League and Spain’s top flight.

Ronaldo scored three in one season at Sporting in Portugal before moving to Manchester United in 2003. He scored 84 EPL goals for the Red Devils in six seasons, then moved to Madrid for a world-record transfer fee. Since the move in the summer of 2009, Ronaldo has scored an astounding 280 league goals in 262 appearances. His header on Saturday was his 20th goal of the 2016-17 season, and marked the eight consecutive campaign in which he’s hit the 20-goal mark in the league.

The goal seemed to ease Madrid into cruise control. Karim Benzema very nearly made it 2-0 in favor of the hosts early in the second half, but his effort struck the far post. Ronaldo then had his penalty saved by Diego Alves after Luka Modric had tumbled in the box:

Late on, Parejo stunned all of Spain with a majestic free kick, and put Madrid’s title chase in as much doubt as it’s been in for a while:

In the end, though, it was Marcelo who came through. The celebrations at the final whistle — players falling to their knees, their arms aloft — were a window into the importance of the goal. Madrid is feeling the pressure. On Saturday, it withstood the pressure — barely.