Ronaldo scores 25th goal in La Liga in Real's 1-0 win over Malaga

Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo has scored his 25th goal in the La Liga and 39th in all competitions, which led his side to maintain their position on top of the Spanish League following a 1-0 win over Malaga on Saturday at the Rosaleda stadium.

Real will now head into next weekend's 'El Clasico' clash with defending champion Barcelona holding a three-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid, which matched the 1-0 victory of their city rivals on Saturday with a win over Espanyol.

According to CNN, Ronaldo, whose collision with teammate Karim Benzema resulted in the France striker going off injured, fired home in trademark style after cutting into the penalty area from the left following a crossfield pass from Gareth Bale.

Meanwhile, the report mentioned that Atletico's Diego Costa kept in touch with Ronaldo at the top of the La Liga scoring charts by emulating the world player of the year's decisive strike, for the 22nd time in the league and 30th overall.

The Madrid clubs are moving clear of Barcelona, who is seven points behind Real ahead of Sunday's home clash with Osasuna, the report added.