5 Players who single-handedly managed to silence Barcelona

#5 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid vs Barcelona, La Liga

Real Madrid turned to Cristiano Ronaldo to help them counter Barcelona's dominance in 2010. Los Blancos paid a then world-record fee for the Portuguese attacker, who joined the club after several successful years at Manchester United.

However, Ronaldo did not enjoy much success against Real's fierce rivals in the league. During his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, Los Blancos only managed to win four El Clasicos in La Liga with Barcelona winning 10. Nevertheless, the Portugal international did make a huge impact on one particular derby which, in turn, helped the Madrid side massively on their way to the league title.

Barcelona and Real Madrid were neck-and-neck during the 2011/12 season. The two teams were led by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively, with both stars vying for the top-scorer tag. In the deep-end of the season, Real visited Camp Nou with just four points between them and their rivals. Barcelona, meanwhile, came into the match with a huge advantage, having put together a fifty-four game unbeaten steak at home.

Nevertheless, Sami Khedira put Real in front in the 17th minute of the match following a good early spell. Barcelona fought back and eventually equalized in the seventieth minute through Alexis Sanchez. Just three minutes later, however, Cristiano Ronaldo latched onto a superb Mesut Ozil through ball before scoring past Victor Valdes.

Real held on to the lead which saw them go seven points clear and eventually win the league title. Ronaldo's Calma celebration on the night, following his winner, gained notoriety of its own as the Portuguese star single-handedly silenced the Barcelona faithful, both literally and figuratively.