Cristiano Ronaldo's top 3 performances in the Champions League Round of 16
Cristiano Ronaldo is the most successful player in the history of the UEFA Champions League. He is the only player to win 5 titles in the Champions League era (1991-92 onwards), Ronaldo is the all-time top-scorer and has the most appearances by an outfield player in the competition.
Since the second group-stage made way for the knockout stage (two-legged Round of 16, quarter-final, and semi-final) in 2003-04, Ronaldo is one of just 2 players to score 20 or more Champions League Round of 16 goals.
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Since not featuring in the 2005-06 edition of the competition as his then club Manchester United were eliminated in the group-stage, Ronaldo has been a constant fixture in the Champions League Round of 16. On that note, let us have a look at the 35-year-old's 3 most memorable performances in this stage of the Champions League.
#3 Real Madrid 4-1 CSKA Moscow | 2011-12 second-leg
In his 8th Champions League Round of 16 tie, Ronaldo scored for the first time in both legs.
Having scored Real Madrid's lone goal in the 1-1 draw at CSKA Moscow, the Portugal captain was also amongst the scorers in the return leg which Madrid won 4-1 at home.
Following Gonzalo Higuain's first-half opener at the Bernabéu, Ronaldo scored either side of a goal from Benzema as Madrid overwhelmed their Russian visitors 5-2 on aggregate to romp into the quarter-finals.
After scoring thrice in his first 14 Round of 16 ties, Ronaldo doubled his goal tally in this round of the Champions League, in the process registering his first brace in this stage of the competition.
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#2 Schalke 1-6 Real Madrid | 2013-14 first-leg
A dazzling six-star team performance all but sealed Real Madrid's place in the quarterfinals following a scintillating 1-6 win at Schalke 04 in the first leg of the 2013-14 Champions League Round of 16.
For once, Ronaldo was content sharing the spotlight in a Champions League game as the Portugal captain came on the scoresheet following first half goals from Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale.
Having hit the inside of the post and twice forcing the Schalke keeper to make reflex saves, Ronaldo scored a double in a Champions League Round of 16 away game for the first time in his 10th attempt.
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#1 Juventus 3-0 Atlético Madrid | 2018-19 second-leg
As they say - Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Atlético Madrid realised it the hard way when they travelled to Juventus for the concluding leg of their Round of 16 tie in the 2018-19 Champions League, having won the first leg 2-0 at home.
Ronaldo had scored just once in 6 Champions League games for his new club Juventus, having scored at least 10 times in each of the previous seven editions of the competition.
The air in the Turin stadium was bristling with anticipation for the second leg. With the spotlight firmly on his able shoulders, Ronaldo displayed his aerial prowess with two superb headers which brought Juventus level on aggregate terms in the tie.
With extra time approaching, Federico Bernardeschi was brought down in the Atlético box. Ronaldo promptly stepped up to complete a record-equalling 8th Champions League hat-trick (also Lionel Messi) as Juventus held on to their lead to move into the quarter-finals. In the process, Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the competition.
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