Cristiano Ronaldo closes in on Raul Gonzales record.

The Portuguese hit a hat-trick against Shakhtar Donetsk at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday for his eighth goal in two games as he moved ever-closer to the club's goal record

It was another memorable night for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese added three more goals on Tuesday to the five he scored at Espanyol on Saturday to close to within two of Raul's record of 323 for Real Madrid. But as has been the case so often in the past, he was helped by the award of two highly-controversial penalties.
Ronaldo's two penalties mean he has now netted 11 in the Champions League - more than any other player in the history of the competition. His first had seen him draw level with former team-mates Luis Figo and Ruud van Nistelrooy; his second sends him clear as the player with the most spot kicks converted in the tournament.

Only at Real since 2009, Ronaldo has now scored a massive 60 (out of 67) penalties for Los Blancos - a little less than a fifth of his 321 goals which see him within touching distance of Raul's record.

During his 16 years at the Bernabeu, Raul netted 323 (in 741 appearances), but only five of those came from the penalty spot and of his 71 Champions League strikes for Real, none were penalties.
Penalties or no penalties, Ronaldo's record is incredible: 321 goals in just 304 games since moving to Madrid from Manchester United for a record €94 million in 2009. The spot kicks have helped, but even without them he would likely have gone on to beat the tally of the Spanish striker at some stage.

"I'm happy," the Portuguese said in the mixed zone after the game. "I'm grateful to my team-mates for the support they have given me. We knew we had to make a good start to La Liga and to the Champions League. We started La Liga a little badly with a draw at Sporting, but we are in a good moment now."
His hat-trick took him to 80 goals in the Champions League (excluding one in a qualifier) and he is now three clear of Barcelona's Lionel Messi - in action against Roma on Wednesday.

And on Saturday against Granada (against whom he scored five last season), he will have the opportunity to overtake Raul's 323 strikes and put himself at the top of the illustrious list of scorers for the Spanish side.