Cristiano Ronaldo outshone by brilliant Bale but still gives his all as Real Madrid win Champions League

Matt Jones - Editor 08:45 27/05/2018
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  • Real Madrid extended their recent and overall dominance on the Champions League with a 13th European Cup as they beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev.

    Real opened the scoring in hilarious circumstances just after the interval, Loris Karius rolling the ball straight into Karim Benzema’s path, the Frenchman simply had to watch it roll over the line. But the Reds were level almost immediately, Sadio Mane poking Dejan Lovren’s header past Keylor Navas.

    With the game blown wide open, Gareth Bale entered off the bench and blew us all away with a breathtaking goal, rising to meet Marcelo’s cross with a magnificent overhead kick that will go down as the best Champions League final goal ever.

    Worse was to come for both Liverpool and Karius when another blunder saw the keeper flap at a Bale rocket which slipped through his grasp for the killer goal.

    Here, we analyse the performance of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a mixed evening.

    STATISTICS

    Goals – 0

    Assists – 0

    Shots – 3

    Shots on target – 1

    Touches – 54

    Passes – 36

    Key passes – 1

    Dribbles – 0

    Dispossessed – 2

    30-SECOND REPORT

    Real Madrid’s fans will have tuned in hoping that the current king of the club game could help Los Blancos stay on their European throne. What they got instead was a wonder show from substitute Bale.

    However, even though he endured a frustrating night, King Cristiano tried his best to influence the game. He always wanted the ball and was constantly looking for holes to exploit in the Liverpool defence.

    GOT RIGHT

    Always a threat – Even when he can’t affect the game himself like he loves to do, he rarely sits on the periphery and allows himself to be overshadowed. As the game opened up in the second half he sat, ready to spark a counter attack or pounce on any Liverpool error.

    Perseverance – Although little went right for the forward he didn’t retreat into his shell and hide. That simply isn’t Ronaldo. He kept wanting and demanding the ball. Was always an outlet for his side, particularly in the latter stages with the game stretched and Real looking to pick off their opponents.

    GOT WRONG

    Composure – Odd to label such a criticism at one who’s proved so accomplished on the big stage time and time again. But he seemed rushed in his decision making in the first half, over hitting passes with regularity to white shirts. This continued in the second period.

    Finishing – He was unlucky to see a rocket rise just over the bar in the first half. But at 2-1 he had the perfect chance to kill the game and wasted it horribly when in on goal, hesitating and allowing Andy Robertson to make a superb intervention.

    KEY MOMENTS

    3rd min RUN: Real’s main man gets free down the left and his centre eventually finds its way to the right where a dangerous cross is dinked in and punched clear by Karius.

    15th min CHANCE: Liverpool lose possession and Real break down the right. Ronaldo rushes onto Dani Carvajal’s pass, bears down on goal and unleashes a fierce drive that just clears the bar.

    42nd min CHANCE: Ronaldo rises high to power a header which Karius beats out, but only to Benzema who bundles in. The linesman’s flag is raised, however. That was tight.

    55th min RUN: Played in down the left channel, Ronaldo sprints past Lovren, playing the ball off the Croat for a corner.

    74th min CHANCE: With Liverpool pushing forward and stretched at the back, Benzema slips Ronaldo in. He dallies and Robertson has time to get back and slide in to superbly block the Portuguese’s shot.

    VERDICT

    One of the biggest worries for Madrid is that if the game isn’t being won on his own by Ronaldo, he tends to strop and sulk and make teammates feel bad about outshining him. But here, on the club game’s biggest stage and in the midst of a frustrating evening, he didn’t scream and shout. Instead Ronaldo rolled his sleeves up and put a shift in. It was far from a vintage performance, but in many ways it was an admirable one.

    RATING: 6/10

    All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com.

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