Cristiano Ronaldo likes to place himself firmly in the limelight.

Before Real Madrid kicked off in the Madrid derby against city rivals Atletico, CR7's nemesis Lionel Messi had reached the brink of history.

The Barcelona superstar's brace in a 5 - 1 stroll over Athletic Bilbao put the Argentine on 84 goals - just one goal short of Germany legend's Gerd Muller's goalscoring record in a calendar year set 30 years ago.

Not to be outshone, Ronaldo smashed home a fantastic free-kick to open the deadlock which helped Real on their way to a crucial 2 - 0 win over Atletico and reduce the gap to second place in La Liga to five points.