Cornella de Llobregat, Spain, Sep 12 (EFE; additional reporting by The Costa Rica Star).- Cristiano Ronaldo ended his goal drought in style here Saturday, scoring five times in Real Madrid’s 6-0 rout of Espanyol in early-season Spanish-league action.

Ronaldo needed just seven minutes to open the scoring, taking a pass from Croatian midfielder Luka Modric and beating Pau Lopez with a shot that tipped off the goalkeeper’s fingers and snuck inside the far post.

His second goal came 10 minutes later when he converted a penalty try after Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale was pushed to the ground in the area by defender Alvaro Gonzalez.

The offensive onslaught continued with yet another score in the 20th minute, when Ronaldo received a perfect pass from Bale near the mouth of Espanyol’s goal and slammed a left-footed shot into the top of the net past Lopez.

The misery for the crowd at Cornella-El Prat Stadium in this northeastern town continued when French striker Karim Benzema tacked on another first-half goal in the 29th minute to make the score 4-0.

Two second-half goals by Ronaldo – assisted by Bale and ex-Espanyol player Lucas Vazquez in the 62nd minute and 80th minute, respectively – capped off the rout.

With its eighth consecutive win over Espanyol, Real Madrid temporarily grabbed sole possession of first place in La Liga with seven points after three games. EFE

Club Record Set with Help from Keylor Navas

Real Madrid is now the only unbeaten club in La Liga, and not a single goal has been scored against the posts guarded by star goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Costa Rica, who has prevented three consecutive scores from scoring in 270 of playtime.

The stellar Spanish club has not enjoyed a streak of three victories without goals allowed in four decades. The clean sheet kept by Navas was almost sullied during the match against Espanyol.

Desperately trying to score at least one goal and alleviate the anguish of Espanyol fans, the offensive line launched a series of incursions into the Real Madrid box, but they were met with spectacular saves.

Navas’ performance comes in the wake of the failed transfer of David De Gea from the Barclays Premier English League to Real Madrid, a move that would have sent the Costa Rican goalkeeper to Manchester United.