5 times Cristiano Ronaldo mesmerised with his performance

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most recognisable names in world football – he’s certainly the most well-known footballer on the planet. What’s more, Ronaldo has also been nominated for both the Ballon D’Or and the World Player of the Year awards this year, and is viewed by most football fans as the de facto frontrunner.

While the deserving winner of these awards is always a matter of personal opinion, Ronaldo has had a singularly excellent season in terms of trophies and is a sure-shot certainty to end up on the podium. This is mainly because some of the best performances of his career have been on crucial Champions League nights in the 2015-16 season.

Here is a list of his 5 best performances from crunch encounters:

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#5 Arsenal vs Manchester United, UEFA Champions League 2008-09

Man United headed into this away fixture at Arsenal after doing a tidy job at home, shutting out the Gunners in a 1-0 home victory. Arsenal were tipped to dominate proceedings at home, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United had other ideas.

He set up the first goal for Park Ji-Sung in the 7th minute with a first-time cross from the left wing after freeing himself from the attentions of Johan Djourou. In the 10th minute, he drew a foul from Robin van Persie and proceeded to convert the free-kick from 40 yards out.

The commentator couldn’t believe his eyes, exclaiming “Absolutely sensational! It went through Almunia – beaten for pace.”

The rest of the game was an exhibition of all of Ronaldo’s finest tricks and flicks, as United played with the command that comes with a 3-0 lead in the tie. Ronaldo scored the third goal with one of the fastest counterattacks ever seen in recent memory, combining wonderfully with Park and Rooney to finish off a move that began in United’s own penalty box.

#4 Manchester United vs AS Roma, UEFA Champions League 2006-07

United were pumped up for their home game against a Roma side which was high on confidence after winning 2-1 in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie. Cristiano and his then teammate Wayne Rooney had the bulk of United’s attacking responsibilities under Sir Alex Ferguson that season and Ronaldo got on with his job in real earnest in this game.

He first provided an assist to Michael Carrick, who punched in a spectacular long-ranger past Doni in Roma’s goal in the 11th minute of the game. Alan Smith and Rooney got the second and third for United before Ronaldo stepped up to make it 4-0 before halftime with a precise finish into Doni’s bottom corner.

He added a fifth in the 49th minute of the game with a perfectly timed run to tap the ball home as United ran out 7-1 winners on the night. He was voted man of the match, and it was one of his first vintage European nights.

#3 Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg, UEFA Champions League 2015-16

Real Madrid’s Undecima-winning campaign very nearly went off the track before it even kicked into full gear after a 2-0 loss at the Volkswagen Arena – home to Vfl Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. The German outfit boasted of the likes of Julian Draxler and Andre Schurrle in attack, though Draxler limped off in the 32^nd minute of this game.

Ronaldo, as is his forte, was the quickest to judge a cross from Dani Carvajal that deflected off a Wolfsburg player and left the defence line flat-footed. He tucked the ball into goal past Diego Benaglio, and the comeback was on for the home team in the 15th minute of the game.

It was his superior footballing IQ which also brought him quickest to the ball from a corner swung in by Toni Kroos 2 minutes later. He made a run across the goal before placing a sweetly struck header into the bottom far corner – again leaving Benaglio or the Wolfsburg defence no time to react to his movement.

He plugged away for the rest of the game fruitlessly, before speculating with a free-kick in the 77^th minute. Fortunately for him, his well-struck shot went through the Wolfsburg wall. Real held on for a famous 3-0 win on the night, and Ronaldo proved his true worth to Real supporters who wanted to see another spirited performance from him.

#2 Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid, La Liga 2011-12

Real Madrid won their last La Liga title in the 2011/12 season under Jose Mourinho, who is currently at the helm of Manchester United’s affairs. Back in those days, Real Madrid were in really imperious form, and scored 121 goals in the league that season, accumulating a total of 100 points.

Atletico were then newly taken over by Diego Simeone, and this was the former Atletico player’s first derby in the dugout. He set his team up to counter fast and bank on Radamel Falcao, Arda Turan and Adrian Lopez’s combination play in attack.

Real took the lead in the 24th minute courtesy a memorable Cristiano Ronaldo free kick, which found its way into Thibaut Courtois’ far post. The 20-year-old Belgian was completely foxed by the ball’s trajectory, and could only watch the ball bulge the net, flat-footed.

Atletico hit back 10 minutes into the second half via Radamel Falcao, who scored a wonderful header past Iker Casillas in the Real Madrid goal. Ronaldo and Real Madrid were in no mood to let the game get out of hand, and Ronaldo’s second strike was a thing of beauty. He took the shot from a position deep on the left wing. It flew over Courtois and then dipped back into the goal at the last possible moment.

He completed his hat-trick with a penalty won by Gonzalo Higuain in the 83rd minute, before turning provider for Jose Callejon in the 88th minute as Real bagged a morale-boosting 4-1 win at their city rivals’ stadium.

#1 Sweden vs Portugal, World Cup 2014 Qualification (Playoffs)

Ronaldo played perhaps the single most decisive game of his career for his country in their 2014 World Cup qualification campaign. While their eventual tournament result was a hugely disappointing exit, this game has become a reference point for Ronaldo’s career as one of the key moments when he proved to be decisive for his team.

Portugal and Sweden were drawn against each other in one of the best playoff fixtures in World Cup qualifying history. With a partisan Swedish home support cheering their players on, the home team commanded 62% possession in the game.

Portugal relied primarily on Cristiano’s pace on the break to maintain a goal threat, and he duly obliged with a goal in the early stages of the second half. Sweden then took the lead on the night with a quickfire brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, levelling the tie in the process.

Ronaldo refused to back down, and he answered back with 2 more goals on the counterattack which took Portugal through, 4-2 on aggregate. Critics remark that it is this game and the subsequent Ballon D’Or vote recount that led to Ronaldo winning the 2013 trophy.