On Sunday, Ronaldo failed to score in La Liga again. This time against Espanyol at the Bernabeu, his frustration was evident as he could not put the ball in the back of the net.
The numbers are damning. Ronaldo last scored in the Spanish competition in last season's final fixture in Malaga. He was then sidelined for the first the first four La Liga games of the current season after his dismissal in the Spanish Supercopa.
Though he last scored on May 21, that is, 4 months and 11 days ago, in terms of minutes on the pitch Ronaldo has gone three La Liga matches without a goal, something unprecedented in his previous eight seasons in the Spanish capital.
The Portuguese striker's anxiousness is on the increase with every game. Especially when Lionel Messi is on possibly the best goalscoring run of his career. The Argentine put two past Las Palmas to take his total tally up to 11 goals in seven fixtures.
In the Champions League, the Portuguese ace has scored four goals in two games, against APOEL and Dortmund, numbers that, while confirming the striker is not going through a dry spell, do contribute to his hesitation in the league.
He enjoyed a handful of chances to end his domestic drought against Espanyol, but a lack of accuracy, Pau Lopez or the linesman's flag all stood in his way.
The match came to an end and Ronaldo was still unable to celebrate a goal. In fact, it is his worst start to the season in La Liga, as he had never gone past his first three games without finding the back of the net. His previous record came in his second season at the Bernabeu, when it took him 255 minutes to net his first goal. As of now, he has not scored in 270 minutes and appears to be firing blanks.