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#7 AC Milan
When Cristiano Ronaldo faces various teams around Europe, he does not give them much room for error. AC Milan are one side in Serie A that have improved significantly over the last couple of years, having made significantly fewer errors. So when this high-spirited side met the Portuguese striker, they made sure he did not have any loose situations to feed off.
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Unlike the other sides mentioned so far, Cristiano Ronaldo has faced AC Milan twice in this calendar year. Once in the month of January and then in May. Over the course of those 180 minutes, the Juventus star could not get on the scoresheet.
In the first face-off that happened in January, the Old Lady did not miss the prolific forward as they managed to get a comfortable 3-1 victory away from home. However, in the second game AC Milan came determined to humiliate Juventus on their home turf and succeeded as the scoreline read 3-0.
Many argued after the game that this was one of Cristiano Ronaldo's worst showings in the Bianconeri colors. Things could have gotten even worse if Franck Kessie had not missed his penalty. A night best forgotten from the Portuguese's point of view.
#6 Leicester City
Purely by looking at the scoresheet of some of Manchester United's games this season, one could make out that Cristiano Ronaldo must be a frustrated man. He has been caught on camera enough times, dejected by his team's performance. This was the striker's first taste of a major bitter defeat since his return to the English top-flight.
Leicester City welcomed Manchester United to the King Power stadium with pressure mounting on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. When the game ended there was even more. The Red Devils conceded four goals and could only score two of their own in reply.
Like all good things eventually come to an end, Man United's 29-game unbeaten run away from home also ended with this embarrassing result. Cristiano Ronaldo was far from the best player on the pitch. The 36-year old was a peripheral figure and could hardly make any impact.
#5 Belgium
Portugal started as the defending champions at Euro 2020 this year. Despite contesting in the 'group of death' with France and Germany, they progressed to the knockout stages. But the joy did not last long and Cristiano Ronaldo's ambition to lift another trophy for his nation remained unfulfilled.
All that, thanks to the team sitting at the summit of FIFA World Rankings, Belgium. Roberto Martinez and co. were considered favorites to win the competition but they were knocked out by eventual champions Italy in the quarter-finals. Their tie with Cristiano Ronaldo and co. was settled by a single goal. A stunner by Thorgan Hazard.
It was a night when Belgium sat deep and defended their lead with occasional counter attacks. It was a high-octane game that saw a few opportunities fall to various Portuguese players, but none could convert it. The best chance of the game fell to Diogo Jota who couldn't even manage to hit the target.
Raphael Guerreiro also hit the post but it seemed like the heavens were not interested in allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to proceed to the quarter finals.
#4 Manchester City
Cristiano Ronaldo had participated in 12 Manchester derbies before this one and when it ended he would have wished he wasn't a part of it. He had only tasted defeat in three of those 12 and little did he know that a fourth loss was on its way.
It is worth mentioning that in all three of those games, Cristiano Ronaldo did not score. The plot remains the same with this derby as well, he did not trouble the scorekeepers. As a matter of fact, no one from Man United bothered to do so and the game finished 2-0 in favor of Manchester City at Old Trafford.
If anything, the game made evident the big gap that existed between the two sides. There was one-way traffic in the first half as City went into the half-time break with a two-goal lead. Cristiano Ronaldo forced Ederson into a sharp save with his well struck volley but there was no other such moment of individual brilliance.
