CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Five years on from Cristiano Ronaldo’s sensational Juventus bicycle kick

The former Real Madrid star delivered one of his most iconic moments in the 2018 Champions League quarter-finals.

Bryan Arellano
Estados Unidos
MARCO BERTORELLOAFP

On 3 April, 2018 Cristiano Ronaldo scored not only one of the best goals of his career but one of the finest in the history of the UEFA Champions League.

Real Madrid faced Juventus in the Champions League quarter-finals and the Portuguese star opened the scoring with an instinctive finish within the first few minutes. He had to wait another hour to score his second that night, but it was certainly worth the wait.

Ronaldo hoisted himself high above the Juventus backline, contorting his body so it was parallel to the turf, before despatching a perfect bicycle kick past the stranded Gianluigi Buffon. The jogged off nonchalently in celebration and was greeted with applause from all four sides of Juventus’ Allianz Stadium.

Those in attendance knew that they had witnessed a piece of footballing history before their eyes.

That goal, five years on

Real Madrid would go on to lift the Champions League for a third consecutive time in 2017/18, defeating Liverpool in the final. It was the fifth continental triumph of Ronaldo’s career and a record 13th win for Los Blancos.

“The truth is that after the first 25 seconds, during which I felt a lot of frustration, I thought about how beautiful that goal was. Beyond the fact that he had scored a goal against us, we couldn’t help but acknowledge that he had done something incredible”, Buffon later admitted in an interview.

For his part, Ronaldo told DAZN Italy: “It was the best goal I’ve ever scored. The standing ovation? He was special.”

“Buffon was there, in a very good stadium, in a great team. It was a very special night. When I spoke to Buffon, I thought he was a good person. After the goal he congratulated me, it was nice. I remember him well, he is always ready to help others.”

Just months after helping to eliminate Juventus with one of the most astonishing goals of all time, Ronaldo announced that he would leave Real Madrid to embark on a new adventure in Turin, in the black and white stripes of Juventus.


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