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#6 Goals from outside the box [Cristiano Ronaldo - 4, Lionel Messi - 11]
Lionel Messi's technique while trying to score from outside the box is simply exquisite. Cristiano Ronaldo is more of a poacher and if you afford him too much space inside the box, he will find the back of the net. However, he is not as threatening as Lionel Messi is from outside the area.
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#5 Goals from inside the box [Cristiano Ronaldo - 32, Lionel Messi - 21]
As we mentioned earlier, Ronaldo's predatory instincts inside the box are slightly superior to Messi's. The numbers speak for themselves. Ronaldo scored 11 more from inside the box than Messi.
#4 Goals with weaker foot [Cristiano Ronaldo - 12, Lionel Messi - 2]
The fact that Lionel Messi is not all that good with his weaker foot is an argument that has consistently been used against him. He deserves a lot of plaudits for always shifting the ball to his stronger left foot and scoring even though the defenders know that's what he is trying to do.
But Messi has scored just two goals with his right foot while Ronaldo has scored 12 with his left foot.
#3 Headed goals [Cristiano Ronaldo - 9, Lionel Messi - 1]
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best in the world when it comes to aerial ability. He has an incredible leap in him and he also gets plenty of hang time. Ronaldo is always waiting for a floated ball into the box and he almost always manages to rise above his opponents and nod the ball in.
This is in stark contrast to the diminutive Lionel Messi. The Argentinian international has scored quite a few headed goals but it really is not his forte. He managed to score just one headed goal in 2021 while Ronaldo managed to score nine.
#2 Top speed [Cristiano Ronaldo - 33.21 kmph, Lionel Messi - 32.4 kmph]
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have both lost a yard of pace in recent years. But they can still stir their stumps and gallop past defenders, although they don't whip out that burst of pace as often as they used to.
Ronaldo clocked a top speed which was higher than Messi's by almost 1 kmph in 2021.
#1 Man of the Match awards [Cristiano Ronaldo - 13, Lionel Messi - 30]
Man of the match awards are a good measure of how frequently a player affects and dominates games. Lionel Messi was spectacular in the first half of 2021 for Barcelona. He was also in exceptional form for Argentina in the 2021 Copa America.
Messi pocketed a whopping 30 Man of the Match awards in total as opposed to Ronaldo's 13.
