5 times Cristiano Ronaldo was let down by his teammates

#3 Ukraine 2-1 Portugal (October 15, 2019)

Ukraine 2-1 Portugal (Image via Moneycontrol)

Euro 2020 were coming up, and the qualification stages were in their penultimate stages. Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo were not yet guaranteed a spot, although the road looked easy. A trip to Ukraine awaited the then defending European champions. Ukraine, under the tutelage of legendary Andriy Shevchenko, was a dogged and disciplined unit. Still, Portugal had more than enough firepower to win the tie.

But football is never won on paper, and the match began in the worst way possible for Portugal. Ukraine took the lead from a corner in the 5th minute, which was an exhibition of terrible set-piece defending from Portugal. There was barely any service from midfield for the front men, including Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo himself. Portugal struggled to find rhythm in the game and things soon went from bad to worse. Andriy Yarmolenko doubled Ukraine's lead in the 27th minute.

It was an uphill task from there, primarily due to the terrible overall play of Portugal. After 72 minutes of struggles, Cristiano Ronaldo did manage to reduce the deficit by one from the penalty spot. However, it was not enough, and Portugal got a setback in pursuing EURO qualifications.

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#2 Hellas Verona 2-1 Juventus (February 9, 2020)

Hellas Verona 2-1 Juventus (Image via blackwhiteredallover)

Juventus had a relatively poor spell under then-coach Maurizio Sarri, and some players played well below par. That was not the case with Cristiano Ronaldo, though.

He set a new record for a Juventus player when they met Hellas Verona on the road. Cristiano became the first Juventus player to score in 10 consecutive matches. Sadly, while it was a good match for Cristiano Ronaldo individually, the team let him down on his special day.

In the second half, Juventus took the lead in the 65th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo scored off a brilliant solo effort. From the kickoff, it was evident that Juventus were struggling, yet Cristiano Ronaldo almost broke the deadlock. Against a run of play, Cristiano hit a grounded curler that came back off the post.

However, Juventus once again lost the plot. Miralem Pjanic gave a shocking mixture of a pass and a tackle which went straight to Fabio Borini, who made no mistake in slotting home. What seemed like an easy win soon became a nightmare for Cristiano Ronaldo. Hellas Verona scored from an 86th-minute penalty to get a much-deserved win.

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#1 Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Real Madrid (November 2, 2017)

Tottenham versus Real Madrid (Image via Getty)

Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur were part of the same group in the Champions League in 2017. The two clubs met each other twice in the same fortnight. It was a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, and both teams wanted to win to secure qualification for the knockouts. Real Madrid were considered to be the favorites, but it was Tottenham who had the last laugh.

The match began terribly for Real when they trailed Tottenham at half-time by a solitary goal. It could have been a lot worse had Harry Kane managed to convert a great chance that had fallen to him. However, the match turned into a nightmare for Cristiano Ronaldo as Tottenham scored two more goals in the second half to win the game 3-1.

Cristiano Ronaldo did manage to reduce the margin by one goal when he hit the target in the 80th minute. However, it was a terrible midfield and defensive display from Real on the night. They could barely manage to create enough chances up the pitch, and defensively, Real were worse.