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MADRID. — Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo silenced the doubters who were writing him off at the start of the season by moving to the top of Spanish La Liga’s scoring chart with two goals on Saturday. Ronaldo’s ninth and 10th goals of the campaign in a 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon moved him ahead of Barcelona rivals Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, who have both found the net eight times.It is a pleasing turnaround for the Portugal captain, who faced heavy criticism at the start of the season when he still appeared to be reeling from a knee injury suffered in the Euro 2016 final.

He made his worst ever goalscoring start to a season with Real, scoring four goals in his first eight games in all competitions, but has since returned to his usual form. — Reuters