La Liga: Hat-trick machine Ronaldo aiming to smash Raul's Real Madrid record

All eyes will be on Real Madrid’s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo who will be aiming to become the Spanish club’s all-time highest goal scorer when they entertain Granada in a la Liga match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Ronaldo has scored eight goals in his last two games (three of which came from the penalty spot). He now has scored 321 goals for the club, just two short of the all-time record set by legend Raul Gonzalez. [caption id=“attachment_2147051” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Another hat-trick would see Ronaldo make history on Saturday and judging by current form that would surprise nobody. AP[/caption] Another hat-trick would see Ronaldo make history on Saturday and judging by current form that would surprise nobody. Rafael Benitez’s side have hit the goal trail in their last three matches after struggling to find the net at the beginning of the season. Games against Real Betis, Espanyol and Shakhtar Donetsk have come at just the right time and yielded 15 goals, reports Xinhua. Betis are newly promoted to La Liga, Espanyol are always an easy opponent for Madrid. And Shahktar had a player sent off and two dubious penalties given against them, but the general feeling is that Benitez could not have asked for better rivals to allow his side to grow in confidence for the tougher challenges that lie ahead. That tough challenge shouldn’t arrive on Saturday with the visit of Granada, who apart from a surprise win against Getafe, have looked a poor side this season and who will arrive at Madrid with memories of the 9-1 thrashing they received in the ground last season. That game saw then coach Abel Resines rest key players, almost giving the game up as lost before it had even begun and with midweek fixtures next week in Spain, it’s possible Granada coach Jose Ramon Sandoval could do something similar. Real Madrid will be without several players through injury with winger Gareth Bale out with a calf problem, defender Sergio Ramos suffering a shoulder injury, while forwards James Rodriguez and Danilo will be sidelined until the end of the month. IANS