Cristiano Ronaldo is defying his age LaLiga - Real Madrid The veteran continues to score goals

There was a time earlier in the 2017/18 season when those in power at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu wondered whether Cristiano Ronaldo had indeed lost a step, however the Portuguese forward's return to form has seen him continue to defy his age.

At 33 years and 41 days old, the former Manchester United star is still scoring decisive goals at the very top level and was instrumental in the defending European champions eliminating Paris-Saint Germain in the last 16.

Since he turned 30, often seen as an unwanted milestone for athletes, Ronaldo has actually scored a further 151 goals in all competitions.

He's not slowing down and, if anything, he's becoming even more prolific with age, partly due to his style of play being forced to change.

It's clear that his blip at the beginning of the season was just that, as he's on course to challenge for the Pichichi and is the Champions League's leading scorer by some distance.

The conclusion we can draw is that it's impossible to compare the Portuguese international to most other footballers, as years don't seem to matter to him.

Ronaldo has previously stated that he hopes to still be playing for Los Blancos when he's 40 years old and it's worth remembering that he didn't score as many goals as this when he was younger.

At age 17 he broke into the first team at Old Trafford and scored five goals, while between the age of 18 to 21 he contributed 22 goals, before he really hit his stride in Manchester by scoring 84 goals between 21 and 24 years old.

It was this form which saw Real Madrid make him the most expensive player in the world in 2009, when all of a sudden his goalscoring numbers exploded.

In the next three years he scored a sensational 134 goals in all competitions, a record that he would obliterate over the following three-year period with 167 goals.

The current three-year period has seen him score 138 goals, far better than he was managing at Manchester United.

Over the course of his last eight LaLiga matches, the player described as being from another galaxy by Zinedine Zidane has scored 14 goals.

His performances have steered the ship in the Spanish capital.

They may still be way off the pace in terms of the title race, but the Champions League remains a realistic target and Ronaldo's goals give the team hope.

Despite his advancing years, the former Sporting CP academy graduate is continuing to break records, as he's scored in every single one of Los Blancos' eight Champions League matches this season.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are ahead of the veteran in the Pichichi race, however he is making ground on the Barcelona pairing with every passing week.

Ronaldo fully expects to win the award, and he also has an eye on breaking the 50-goal barrier in all competitions this term.

These are not the achievements of a player winding down to the end of his career.