5 talking points: Espanyol 0-6 Real Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo bagged the second quintet of his career to break his mini goal drought of this season as Real Madrid dispatched Espanyol by pumping in six past the hapless Barcelona based club.Having drawn a blank in the opening two La Liga games of the campaign, the Portuguese ace was frustrated even more when he failed to break the duck even with his national side last week. But it was all worth it as he responded in a blistering fashion, netting five times in the game, and moreover, was involved in the other one as he laid an inch-perfect cross to Benzema for an easy finish.Real Madrid continued to rattle their imperious attacking force as they now prepare to welcome Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League opener on Tuesday.Here are the five talking points from the lop-sided affair at Cornella-El Prat.

#1 The beast comes storming back

They say when it rains, it pours. And Cristiano Ronaldo has exemplified the adage remarkably. Going even two or three games without getting on the scoresheet is a worrying prospect for the Portuguese ace, for such is the stratospheric standard he has set for himself. In the two league and international fixtures this term, the winger endured a barren run of goals and entered this game desperate to end the dry spell.

And boy did he do that.

After a few minutes of normal exchanges between the two sides, Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 7th minute with a cool finish cutting-in from the left, and doubled his tally with a well-taken penalty. It took him just three more minutes to get his third of the evening when he latched on to a Gareth Bale pass to squeeze the ball in for his 29th La Liga treble.

Later on, Ronaldo turned the provider for Benzema when he laid a sumptuous cross for the Frenchman to make an effortless tap-in. The visitors headed back to the dressing room with a commanding 4-0 lead, but the former Manchester United man wasn’t done for the day yet.

He bagged another two in the closing half of the game to take his tally to five for the evening and rounded off a record-breaking night as he now leads the all-time La Liga charts in Blancos’ history with 230 goals, surpassing Raul’s previously held record of 228. And as a matter of fact, Ronaldo is also the first player in Real Madrid’s history to do the quintet twice, and only the third ever in football.

#2 The silent killer in Bale

Gareth Bale may not have got on the scoresheet, but his contributions in the thumping win were undeniably there. The Welshman was involved in five of the six-goal salvo we witnessed, highlighting the creative influence he can have on a game.

He won the penalty in the first half that Ronaldo so nonchalantly converted and served things on the platter for Ronaldo to grab his hat-trick, just minutes later. His swift movements and nimble footwork tormented the Espanyol defenders to the gills and made another assist in the second half to his Portuguese counterpart for his fourth.

Bale ran the show with his peerless performance down the left and despite failing to find the net, was the silent killer who self-effacingly did all the work for his side.

The former Tottenham man has been in a sublime form this term and will bring the sky down if he continues to play in the same vein.

#3 Navas a more than capable custodian

Real Madrid’s quiet summer met with a bitter end when an acrimonious war of words ensued between them and Manchester United over the former’s failure to sign David de Gea. The Spanish shotstopper emerged as Real’s prime target for the summer following the departure of Iker Casillas. However, the long, relentless saga never came to an end as he ended up staying at Old Trafford, leaving Los Blancos hot under the collar.

Keylor Navas, last year’s signing from Levante, had been manning the net right from the pre-season tour for the Whites, but wasn’t seriously considered as the no.1 choice in goal. But his performances all this while, indicates he deserves it more than anybody else.

The Costa Rican registered a third clean sheet on the trot, thereby underlining his dexterity in goal. Although he wasn’t really tested in this match, Navas did make a few crucial saves, that would otherwise have caused no porblem to the visitors at all. Nonetheless, by safeguarding the net, he is only cementing his place tighter in Real’s starting XI.

His performances against better higher ranked sides will truly define his abilities.

#4 History against Espanyol

Not to undermine Espanyol’s chances here, but history suggests that the writing was on the wall for the Periquitos. Their record against the Madrid behemoths in the last decade doesn’t make for a good reading, as the Barcelona contingent have never beaten them in that span. Moreover, they have managed to breach the defence and score just five times in the last 16 games, accentuating their capability even in attack.

The home side although started off encouragingly, the steam started to ebb with each passing minute. They deployed two upfront and played a high line, the chasm between the defence and the midfield proved too dangerous and the visitors ruthlessly pounced on theior errors.

Los Meringues seamlessly exploited the space given to them inadvertently and after going three goals down inside first 20 minutes, stared down the barrel. Manager Sergio couldn’t find a way to cut off the passing lanes nor ordered his side to beef up the porous defence.

Although a win over this in-form Real Madrid side was hypothetical, Espanyol did little to none in trying to stop them either.

#5 Real Madrid have a great lead up to UCL

With Espanyol done and dusted under the carpet, Real Madrid now gear up for the new season of Champions League, that is set to kick start in three days time. And what better way to warm-up before the opening game.

Last season, the then defending champions were undone by Juventus in the last four and will be aiming for a shot at redemption by reclaiming the Big Ol’ ears this season. In this form, Rafael Benitez’s troops appear the most threatening and remember, a team with a point to prove is always the most dangerous. So Blancos will naturally address every game with as much aggression and attempt to brush aside every hurdle that stands in their way.

No only have this Real team scored 11 goals in 2 games now but have also managed to keep three clean sheets, which means they haven’t conceded so far this season.

Beware Europe, this Real Madrid team are the ones to watch, for they are back to their best.