Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return from injury as Real Madrid drew 2-2 with Villarreal in La Liga.
Gareth Bale opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Ronaldo’s fine header in the 32nd minute doubled the advantage for the visitors.
However, second half goals from Roger Martinez and Samu Castillejo earned a point for the home team.
Here’s a closer look at Ronaldo’s display ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool.
STATISTICS
Goals – 1
Assists – 0
Shots – 5
Shots on target – 2
Touches – 34
Passes – 19
Key passes – 0
Pass success – 89.5%
Dribbles – 0
Aerials won – 1
30-SECOND REPORT
Ronaldo started in a front two alongside Bale and looked sharp from the kick-off. The Portuguese found space in behind the defence with a couple of darting runs and crossed well for his strike partner on one occasion.
He had a couple of stinging efforts at goal and rose well to meet Marcelo’s superb cross with a fine header to score Madrid’s second. Was replaced by Karim Benzema on the hour mark with the final against Liverpool in mind.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a towering header.
GOT RIGHT
Goal threat – Ronaldo had five shots at goal – and he only played 60 minutes, registering 34 touches in total. That means every seventh touch he had was a shot, making him a constant threat. The positions he took up in the penalty area as well sent alarm bells ringing in the Villarreal defence.
GOT WRONG
Dribbling – While dribbling hasn’t been a huge part of his game for a while, he’s still adept at one-on-ones and can leave a defender for dead. He seemed reluctant to take on anyone against Villrreal (and never did), opting for the easy pass instead.
VERDICT
Leading up to the game, Zinedine Zidane claimed Ronaldo was “120 per cent fit” and to be fair, the 33-year-old showed no signs of weakness. He seems to have full recovered from that ankle injury and looks as sharp as can be expected.
He was a constant threat against Villarreal and never really broke a sweat. It was a warm-up for the final in Kiev. Liverpool should be very scared.
RATING: 7/10
He’s back: Cristiano Ronaldo
All statistics are compiled using whoscored.com
