Cristiano Ronaldo scores five to break Real Madrid's La Liga record

Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals and became Real Madrid's all-time top scorer in La Liga as he inspired Los Blancos to a thumping 6-0 win at Espanyol.

The Portugal forward's impressive haul saw him move ahead of Alfredo di Stefano and Raul in one afternoon to amass a total of 229 goals in 203 matches -- one ahead of Raul, who needed 550 games to reach his tally.

Ronaldo, who had failed to score in either of Madrid's opening league games, needed just seven minutes to open his account against Espanyol, having bagged a treble here last season. He promptly scored again from the penalty spot and then completed his hat-trick on 20 minutes with the help of a cross from Gareth Bale.

Karim Benzema added a fourth before the break, and then in the second half Bale again laid on the pass for Ronaldo to strike for the fourth time and make Real Madrid history. But he was still not done, converting again from inside the area on 80 minutes.

With Madrid's Champions League campaign kicking off against Shakhtar Donetsk next week, coach Rafael Benitez rotated his side by benching Toni Kroos in favour of Casemiro, while injuries to James Rodriguez and Danilo forced him to bring in Isco and Dani Carvajal.

Although they would end the afternoon humiliated, Espanyol made an encouraging start, with Felipe Caicedo forcing Keylor Navas to tip his shot around the post in the opening minutes.

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But Madrid soon made the vast disparity in quality show, as Luka Modric looped the ball over Espanyol's defensive line to release Ronaldo, who tucked the ball into the far bottom corner from six yards.

Soon after, Benzema slid the ball into Bale's path in the box, where he was tripped by Alvaro Gonzalez. Ronaldo slammed the spot-kick into the bottom corner, just beyond the reach of Pau Lopez.

Bale and Ronaldo combined again just three minutes later, with the Wales international crossing from the left wing towards the back post, where Ronaldo was waiting to volley into the net.

The former Manchester United man then turned provider for Madrid's fourth goal, receiving the ball from Bale and then laying it across the box for Benzema to tap home at the far post.

The Frenchman nearly hit a fifth for Madrid a minute before half-time but struck the post instead.

Madrid were less rampant in the second half but Espanyol still failed to trouble them. The Catalan side's hapless afternoon was summed up when Salva Sevilla failed to convert from an open goal after Navas had parried Gerard Moreno's header.

But, even in second gear, Madrid and Ronaldo proved ruthless. On 61 minutes, this time from the right, Bale squared to the Portuguese, who calmly rolled in his milestone goal.

And with 10 minutes remaining he struck again, this time turning in a low pass from substitute and former Espanyol player Lucas Vazquez.

He even could even have hit an unprecedented sixth goal in the final few minutes, but struck a half-volley just beyond the far post.