Ronaldo eyes the finishing line in title chase

Cristiano Ronaldo feels that Liga leaders Real Madrid are now closing in on the title as they prepare to face struggling Sporting Gijon at the Santiago Bernabeu this weekend.

The Portuguese forward scored his seventh hat-trick of the season as Real beat neighbours Atletico 4-1 on Wednesday to restore their four-point lead at the top of the table.

The pressure had been growing on Jose Mourinho’s team as their lead – which sat at 10 points in mid-March – was whittled down to one in the wake of Barcelona’s 4-0 victory over Getafe on Tuesday.

But, after some tense moments with the score tied at 1-1 at the Vicente Calderon, Ronaldo made the difference before Jose Callejon got the other goal.

“Still there is a little way to go but the league is near now. We were anxious going into the game as we knew that Barca had won but now we are relaxed,” said Ronaldo, who has already equalled his record-breaking tally of 40 league goals, set last season.

That figure leaves him one ahead of Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, although the Argentine has the most in all competitions with 61.

“Losing is not a word in my vocabulary. We knew it would be a difficult game against Atletico and they played very well so I am happy with the result. I am not looking for personal records but titles for Real Madrid and I have to thank my team-mates because without them I would not have scored,” added Ronaldo.

April is a crunch month for Real and will go a long way to deciding their destiny in the title race.

Having taken four points from two league games against Valencia and Atletico, they still have a tough Champions League semi-final tie with Bayern Munich to come either side of their trip to the Camp Nou to face Barca.

Barcelona are pushing Real all the way having won their last 10 league games in succession but, as they prepare to travel to the season’s surprise package Levante, midfielder Sergio Busquets points out that they are still reliant on the leaders dropping more points.

“It will be difficult to win the league but not impossible and they still have to come here to play us. They have the advantage which we have had in the past and we have been champions but all we can do is go game by game,” Busquets said.