UEFA Champions League 2018-19: Will Cristiano Ronaldo's love affair with Madrid continue?
The whole world knows that Cristiano Ronaldo has a fairytale-like love story with Real Madrid.
The Portuguese forward scored 311 times for Real Madrid in LaLiga during his 9-year long tenure with the whites. He is the all-time top goal scorer for the and also the top goal scorer in UEFA Champions League, finding the back of the net a staggering 121 times.
His bond with Real Madrid is so strong that even after his departure from the club six months ago, the Portuguese skipper still ended up as the top goal-scorer for the whites in 2018. And is second only to Dybala in goals scored for Juventus in 2018.
This connection of Ronaldo with Real is pretty much known to everyone, but very few know about his love affair with the other half of Madrid, that dons the red and white.
Whenever the forward has faced the other half of Madrid, Atletico Madrid, he has had a good time of it - which is clearly evident by the fact that he has found the back of the net 22 times in 31 matches against them, while has assisted eight. In those 31 matches, he has been on the losing side only 8 times.
Atletico have flourished under the mentoring of Diego Simeone. Antoine Griezmann has been heading the attack for them consistently, and their defense led by Gödin has been a significant factor in their steady performances in both LaLiga and UCL.
Sure, Atletico will no longer have to face Ronaldo in the league. But the Round of 16 draw of UCL has made sure that Atletico Madrid will be taking on Juventus, and all eyes will be on Ronaldo who will be making his return to Madrid soil six months after his departure from Real.
While Atletico Madrid have a tight and compact defensive unit, they still need to be ready for the threat that has pulverized their net time and time again. Ronaldo is enduring his poorest UCL start, but he knows how to turn situations around.
And what more motivation does he need than a return to Madrid, as well as facing one of his favorite opponents in Atletico Madrid.