For the first time in several years, Cristiano Ronaldo is finishing a season in top condition.
His double against Celta Vigo on Wednesday took him to 13 goals in his last eight games, a run of form that has propelled Real to within one point of a first league title since 2012.
With the club now just two matches away from clinching a La Liga and Champions League double, it is perfect timing.
It's no coincidence either. The player and his manager Zinedine Zidane have carefully managed his fitness, enabling Ronaldo to avoid injuries that have plagued him at this point in recent seasons.
"What you have is a Ronaldo primed for the last third of the campaign," said Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.
"That's a big change. In previous years he has been injured at this point. Now he feels completely sharp when it matters."
He missed the Copa del Rey final in 2014 and was short of 100 per cent in Lisbon, when his celebration after scoring Real's fourth in a 4-1 Champions League win over Atleti was a rare highlight in an otherwise forgettable performance.
Ronaldo suffered muscle problems in April 2016 too, missing three games, and famously injured knee ligaments after a gruelling summer with Portugal.
That cost him a pre-season and two league matches but perhaps crucially also served to give him extra rest.
He is on track to make the fewest number of league appearances since his first season at Real in 2009/10 when he missed seven weeks due to an ankle injury.
And his playing time is down significantly on his last two years in particular. On both occasions he played more than 3,000 minutes per season, a heavy workload alongside Champions League commitments.
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