Cristiano Ronaldo's 10 favorite opponents in the Champions League
Come February 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to renew his rivalry with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
After the first draw was annulled following a mix-up, Manchester United drew the reigning Spanish champions in what looks like a tasty affair.
The Portuguese is no stranger to playing against them, having tormented the side on numerous occasions in the past.
Most of his goals against Atletico have come in La Liga with Real Madrid. But he also boasts a unique record of eliminating them every time he's met them in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
In fact, the Rojiblancos are one of his favorite opponents in terms of goals scored in the competition, but where do they rank on his all-time list?
Let's shave a look at Ronaldo's 10 favorite opponents in the Champions League:
#10 Lyon - 6 goals (12 games)
Ronaldo has come up against Lyon with three different sides - Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus - netting six times in the process.
⏱️ Juventus 2-1 Lyon FT:
Juventus win 2-1 courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo brace, but it's not enough for Lyon progress on away goals to set up a quarter-final meeting with Manchester City
For more match stats - whoscored.com/Matches/143599… https://t.co/zGuYhPM0sr
Eight of his 12 appearances against the side came in the last-16, scoring only four times, with the French side also eliminating him twice, the last of which came in 2020 with the Bianconeri.
#9 APOEL Nicosia - 6 goals (4 games)
Nicosia are the only Cypriot side Ronaldo has faced in his career and with six goals in four games, you can say he enjoyed going up against them.
ON THIS DAY 3 YEARS AGO:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored this STUNNING BRACE v Apoel Nicosia in the Champions League for Real Madrid.
https://t.co/2I0nmq89d4
After drawing a blank in his first appearance, he netted twice each in the next three, including in the second-leg of Real Madrid's quarter-final clash in 2012.
#8 Galatasaray - 6 goals (3 games)
In the 2012-13 season, Los Blancos faced a then-unknown Galatasaray in the quarter-finals and Ronaldo struck thrice to secure a 5-3 win. Madrid went through to the semifinals despite a second-leg defeat.
This was the standout goal in another Cristiano Ronaldo hat trick. Galatasaray didn’t stand a chance https://t.co/7qfNQmNw9P
The sides were paired up against each other in the group stages of the following season and the talismanic No.7 struck a hat-trick in Istanbul. He missed the reverse fixture through an injury.