After facing a 5-match ban in La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo had a lot of ground to cover up as Lionel Messi and Barcelona’s are in a seven-point lead in the Spanish League, however, the Portuguese got an opportunity to make amends to Real Madrid’s current form, but in the Champions League group stages.
On a night, which also marked Cristiano Ronaldo’s 400th appearance for Real Madrid, Los Blancos ended their winless streak at Signal Iduna Park against Borussia Dortmund after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a memorable brace which came after two successive La Liga matches without opening the scoreboard.
While Gareth Bale (18’) opened the scoring with a magical and stunning goal, Cristiano Ronaldo (49’) made it 2-0 as early as in the second half. Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (54’) grabbed a breather soon after, however, Ronaldo (79’) ended the contest with his second of the night, 10 minutes before the final whistle.
🙌 What a night in Dortmund!
WHAT. A. NIGHT!#RMUCL pic.twitter.com/VIX72uCbrS
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) September 26, 2017
Interestingly, this is the second time in the same number of Champions League matches that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a brace after the reigning champions started their campaign with a 3-0 win over APOEL Nicosia, followed by this week’s 3-1 victory over last-placed, Dortmund.
However, when it comes to consistency, not everything has been great for Cristiano Ronaldo as in the previous two La Liga games, after his suspension, the Portuguese have failed to meet the net, attracting a hell lot of criticism over his performance.
That said, after the brace against Borussia Dortmund, the Real Madrid attacker opened about what he feels of this regular criticism and has said that he has already proven his worth for Real Madrid, though he needs to prove himself in every single match.
Here is what Cristiano Ronaldo said during the interview,
“It seems that I need to keep showing exactly who I am in every single match and I am surprised by what the fans think of me, my numbers speak for themselves, and I am an exemplary professional with a clear mind. The criticism is getting worse.”
“Before the game against ‘Dortmund’, we spoke about how much we wanted to win here. We did what the coach told us to do, the team has been in phenomenal form, creating opportunities and it wasn’t easy to score three goals here but we played well.”
“I’m happy and I’m doing what I enjoy. People talk every day all around the world, but I live for football and my family, not for the media. These stories sometimes start in Portugal, or Spain or even Germany, because when you’re one of the biggies in a business, people talk about you.”
As far as the controversies are concerned, Cristiano Ronaldo was accused of tax evasion last season by Spanish Authorities and after becoming the first football to score 100 European as well as Champions League goals, the 5-match ban from Spanish League and failure to score in the last two games had made the matters worse.
However, with his brace against APOEL and Dortmund, Cristiano Ronaldo has put his money where his mouth is and showed the world his capabilities, once again.
In 400 appearances for Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo has incredible numbers of 411 goals and 111 assists in his name, and has played a major role in Los Blancos collecting three Champions League trophies and two La Liga, one Club World Cup as well as the UEFA Super Cup crowns.