Sometimes we forget just how good Cristiano Ronaldo is. For example, after Wolfsburg's 2-0 win against Real Madrid last week in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, we forgot how good Cristiano is.
Just how good is he?
Cristiano Ronaldo is good enough to bring his team back from a 2-0 deficit in the Champions League and single-handedly force them to advance. We know he's that good because that's what happened in the return leg Tuesday, with Cristiano scoring two goals within three minutes in the first half and finishing the tie with a free kick in the second.
.@Cristiano Ronaldo tapped in from close range to open the scoring for Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg. #UCL #UCLonFOX https://t.co/HJaE4gfraz
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 12, 2016
Wolfsburg led Real Madrid 2-0 on aggregate, then @Cristiano happened. 2 goals in 2 minutes! @HeinekenSoccer #UCL https://t.co/70TvqJVxK9
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 12, 2016
Clinical FK @Cristiano #UCL pic.twitter.com/lfTUtQdZZ2
— SOCCER.COM (@soccerdotcom) April 12, 2016
One thing every great team needs is a match winner, a player who can take over games when it all looks hopeless. Cristiano Ronaldo is clearly Real Madrid's match winner, just as he has been since his arrival from Manchester United. Today, though, he was something different. He wasn't just a match winner. He was a match obliterator. A match destroyer.
If Real Madrid are to salvage something from this disappointment of a season (the two ways to do that would be hope Barcelona continue their poor league form and collapse at the finish line or to win the Champions League, the latter of which seems more likely), this will be the game everyone points to as the beginning of their turnaround, when it all looked lost in Europe until Cristiano Ronaldo put the team on his back and carried them past Wolfsburg.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
