Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo admits coach Zinedine Zidane has him working harder.

After his hat-trick against Espanyol, Ronaldo is now the joint top scorer in the league with along with Barcelona striker Luis Suarez with 19 goals.

"I and the others all needed to work. We needed to because the pre-season was not good, with a lot of travelling. Zizou has come in with different ideas and it has been better," said the Portuguese.

He admitted that the match against Espanyol had been a very good one: "The team is working very well. Zizou has done a brilliant job. I feel a lot better and a lot fitter. We have won by a big margin and everything has come out well."