5 times Cristiano Ronaldo outperformed Lionel Messi in El Clasico
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For the majority of the past decade, the rivalry between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona also brought up yet another rivalry between two of the best players in the history of football- Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The two best players of their respective clubs enjoyed great success in Spain before leaving the country.
Cristiano Ronaldo often brought out his best performances for Real Madrid against their eternal rivals, and the man built for the big occasions did his job to perfection several times during his stay at the club. We take a look at the times when Ronaldo outperformed his personal rival Messi in the big matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics for Real Madrid
5. Spanish Super Cup- 2012/13
La Liga champions, Real Madrid faced Copa del Rey champions FC Barcelona in the Spanish super cup in the early season clash in 2012/13 and the Portuguese superstar displayed an insane piece of skill to silence his haters and brought out smiles on the faces of the Los Blancos supporters.
Madrid made a quick counter move, and Sami Khedira slipped in a delightful chip over the high line of defenders held by Barcelona. Ronaldo was one-on-one with Gerard Pique and won the ball with a delighted back heel, taking the ball over Pique and into his stride to have a clear shot on goal. The striker then thumped in a thunderous strike to score Madrid’s second goal of the tie. Madrid went on to win the Cup 3-2.
4. Spanish Super Cup- 2017/18
Another clash in the Spanish Super Cup between Madrid and Barcelona saw Cristiano Ronaldo take the limelight on the big stage as he won his side yet another trophy and brought out a famous celebration to cap off the goal. Ronaldo entered the pitch in the 58th minute with the match evenly poised at 1-1 and went on to score the second goal.
Madrid were egged forward in attack, and Isco passed it on for Ronaldo who was once again in close corners with Gerard Pique on the left flank. The striker cut inside the pitch and unleashed a ferocious strike which took everyone by surprise and settled into the top corner giving Madrid the lead. However, his joy was short-lived, as minutes later he earned a second yellow card and was sent off for showing dissent against the decision. He had pushed the referee aside after the red card and the infamous incident made him earn a 4-match ban at the time.
3. La Liga – 2015/16
Cristiano Ronaldo helped Los Blancos earn a famous victory against Barcelona in the 2015/16 season in La Liga, which also happened to be coach Zinedine Zidane’s first El Clasico in charge of the club. Minutes after Real Madrid had gone down to 10-men with the scoreline at 1-1 Cristiano Ronaldo combined with Gareth Bale to score the winner in the thrilling encounter at the Camp Nou. Gareth Bale put in a cross at the back post for his Portuguese teammate, who then chested it down before coolly slotting it home past Claudio Bravo in goal.
2. La Liga 2011/12
2011/12 was a breakthrough season for both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, simply in terms of the volume of goals both of them scored that year. Although Messi ended the year with more goals to his name, Ronaldo had the better of him in the encounter between the two in La Liga as he went on to score for Madrid.
He performed the famous “Calma Calma” celebration, to silence the hostile crowd present at Camp Nou, who had made it a point to boo him at every opportunity. The striker rounded off Victor Valdes in goal to score the winner after Khedira had scored the first goal for Madrid in the match which is still vivid in the memory of the fans from both clubs.
1. Copa del Rey 2010/11
The great man, Cristiano Ronaldo has won many a trophy during his incredible career and has often single-handedly won his side many among them, but the Copa del Rey trophy victory in 2010/11 during his initial seasons at Real Madrid will be very special. Ronaldo scored the all-important goal in the closely fought final of the Copa del Rey after both sides toiled hard for more than 100 minutes on the pitch. On the 102nd minute mark, Ronaldo rose above Pique at the far post to score from Angel Di Maria’s pinpoint cross.
Also Read: El Clasico 2021/22- How will Real Madrid line-up against FC Barcelona?
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