Ronaldo a historic player, says Benitez

Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez had nothing but praise for Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portugal international netted five times in the 6-0 win over Espanyol to become the Santiago Bernabeu outfit's all-time top goalscorer in La Liga.

The prolific attacker was chasing previous record holder Raul, who scored 228 Liga goals for Madrid, and his quintuple strike haul saw him move onto 230.

"I like to talk about the team when you get a victory this big, but you cannot forget the five goals Ronaldo scored. And it could even have been more," said Benitez.

"The numbers speak for themselves. Someone who scores so many goals deserves a place in history. There is no doubt about that.

"He deserves his place just like Raul and Alfredo Di Stefano. We are talking about three historic players here. I hope Cristiano will keep scoring, for himself and for the team.

"I’m very satisfied with the result and the way it was achieved. And as always, there are things to improve, we have to keep working."

Ronaldo scored 48 goals in 35 league appearances in 2014-15.