4 tactics used by Atletico Madrid to stop Cristiano Ronaldo | Champions League 2018/19

#1 Refusing him space to operate

Ronaldo was always man marked

Simeone knew how dangerous the Portuguese could be if he was allotted time on the ball and ensured that there was always someone pressing him whenever he had the ball.

As such, Ronaldo never really got a foothold in the game and whenever he tried to run at people, he had the opposition players covering him well. He did win a few free kicks when the Atletico pressure resulted in a few fouls, however, it was a tactic that largely worked.

When Ronaldo failed to influence the game through the middle, he shifted to the wings. But Atletico’s speedy fullbacks stayed disciplined and successfully kept him at bay. Whenever required, the midfielders shifted to the sides and they doubled teamed the Portuguese out of the game.

Without any space to run into and with someone always breathing down his neck, Ronaldo found it hard to play his natural game in the first half.

Even when Juventus tried to play on the counter, the Portuguese was not afforded any space and as such, he had little impact on the game. Without his goalscoring abilities, Juventus looked blunt in attack and lost the game.