Messi vs Ronaldo: The debate for the 2018-19 season has already begun

#5 Lionel Messi scored a hattrick for Barcelona, while Ronaldo is sent off for the first time in the Champions League

Valencia v Juventus - Ronaldo in despair after being sent off

This is the most recent and the biggest one out of all of them- the performance of Messi and Ronaldo on MatchDay1 of the UEFA Champions League 2018-19 season. Barcelona started their campaign with a very solid performance against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven at the Camp Nou. Messi scored from a free kick to give Barcelona the lead and ended it perfectly with 2 goals from combination play giving Barca a comfortable 4-0 victory.

Ronaldo had an entirely different story on the other hand. Juventus had hoped that Ronaldo would continue his goalscoring form as he had with Madrid over the past few years, but things did not pan out exactly as they had planned at the Mestalla. Valencia, are an opposition against whom Ronaldo had flourished and with a flurry of shots early on, both Ronaldo and Juventus came close. But a controversial red card decision in the 29th minute saw the referee give Ronaldo his marching orders. Ronaldo had been booked for allegedly bringing Murillo down when it simply was a case of Murillo making the most of the situation.

This controversy early on has ensured that the comparison between the two have started already with Messi apparently being the hero for helping Barca win while Ronaldo receiving a red card and perhaps even more match bans post the disciplinary hearings.