AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo continues Champions League supremecy with Al Nassr
The Portugal captain continued his fine goalscoring form on Tuesday, scoring twice to secure a victory against Qatari club Al Duhail.
Cristiano Ronaldo was known - in some quarters - as Mr. Champions League for what achieved in the competition in Europe during spells with Manchester United, Juventus and particularly Real Madrid. And he continues to live up to that moniker now that he has swapped Europe for Al Nassr and AFC.
What UEFA Champions League records does Cristiano Ronaldo hold?
Is the Portugal captain the best player in the history of the UEFA Champions League? The stats suggest so. No player has played more games in the competition (180), scored more goals (140) or provided more assists (42). He is one of 18 players to have won the tournament on five occasions (once with the Red Devils, four times with Los Blancos). Ex-Madrid winger Paco Gento is the only man to have lifted six European Cups (in the 1950s and 1960s).
On top of that, Ronaldo has won more matches in Europe’s elite club competition than any other player (115, Iker Casillas and Thomas Müller are next on 101).
Portugal captain the matchwinner as Al Nassr beat Al Duhail
So far, the 38-year-old has replicated in Asia what he did for most of his career in Europe. In his first season playing in the AFC Champions League, the veteran attacker has scored big goals to help his team to three wins out of three in group stage, including against Al Duhail on Tuesday.
The Saudi Pro League side went 3-0 up against the Qataris in Riyadh thanks to Ronaldo rattling in a superb left-foot strike from 25 yards, which seemingly put the game to bed just after the hour mark. Not so, as the visitors rallied with two kick-fire goals to set up a tense finale.
However, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner stepped up to the plate once more, scoring his second with a textbook volley to give Al Nassr a two-goal cushion with just under 10 minutes to go. Former Liverpool star Sadio Man also found the net as the Saudis ultimately ran out 4-3 winners.
Ronaldo’s goals-per-game ratio in the UEFA Champions League
Ronaldo boasted a 0.77 goals-per-game ratio in the UEFA Champions League, which is actually marginally less than Lionel Messi (0.79), Robert Lewandowski (0.81) and, going back further, Alfredo Di Stefano (0.84). It’s early days, but he’s started off in similar vein in Asia, with three goals in his first three AFC Champions League matches.