Spain’s Liga no longer a two-horse race: Ronaldo

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo says the Spain’s top division is no longer a two-horse race and the club will have to work hard to achieve anything this season.

“Valencia are top of the standings, we don’t only have Barca to worry about, so we have to continue working, to continue fighting for the league,” he told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca published Thursday.

The Portugal striker scored a double at the weekend which helped his club to a 6-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna, and into third place in the Primera Liga, two points behind Valencia and one ahead of arch-rivals Barcelona.

For the past six seasons, the Spanish league has been won by either Real or Barcelona.

“The goals have given me confidence,” said Ronaldo. “When we score and we play well then the confidence grows. I feel better each time, well-prepared to help the team.

“The team showed that it’s getting better every time, we are growing and improving in many aspects. We are making a great start to the league.”

Ronaldo rejoins his national side on Friday when Portugal faces Denmark in a Euro 2012 qualifier, after missing the two previous games through injury.

Portugal are in second last place in their Group H after a draw at home to Cyprus and a loss to Norway.

“We are hoping for a win on Friday, we are in a difficult situation but we can achieve it,” said Ronaldo.

In an interview with another sports paper, AS, he warned the match would be “complicated”.

“In the previous (World Cup) qualifying round we lost to (Denmark) and we are anxious not let it happen again,” he said.

“The team has confidence, I think we will win and give the best of ourselves. We are only thinking about the match against Denmark because if we win we will have more confidence for the next one,” against Iceland on October 12.