Cristiano Ronaldo equalled his personal record of scoring in 12 consecutive games for Real Madrid on Wednesday and could set a new landmark against Bayern Munich in the Champions League next week.
Ronaldo’s late equaliser in the 1-1 home draw with Athletic Bilbao means he has scored 22 goals in La Liga and the Champions League in that run.
Madrid teammate Marcelo hailed him as “the best player in the world” and tipped him to set a personal record of scoring in 13 club matches in a row.
Zinedine Zidane’s side face Bayern in the Champions League semifinal first leg at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday.
Ronaldo has struck in all 10 of Madrid’s Champions League games, notching 15 goals, and Marcelo backed him to continue that superb form.
“Cristiano is the best player in the world,” he told reporters. “We have absolute confidence in him, as we do in all our players, and I’m sure he’s going to net more in more games and extend his 12-match scoring run.”
Zidane told his postmatch news conference that his team’s domestic form had been a problem but said they had upped their performances in the Champions League and would do so again against Bayern.
Marcelo echoed that assessment, saying: “There are no doubts ahead of the Bayern game.
“We know what we have to do. Two or three games can hit your morale, but a draw [against Bilbao] will not affect us.”
Dermot Corrigan is a Madrid-based football writer who covers La Liga and the Spain national team for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter @dermotmcorrigan
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