Cristiano Ronaldo’s best quarter-final performances as Al Nassr set for ACL Elite showdown
As the AFC Champions League Elite moves into its quarter-final stage this weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr is looking to win the trophy for the first time. Al Nassr has previously won the now-defunct Asian Cup Winners' Cup and Asian Super Cup - both in 1998 - but Asia’s top prize, as thus far eluded the Riyadh club.
Ronaldo and his Al Nassr teammates take on last season’s losing finalist Yokohama F. Marinos on Saturday with a place in the semifinals at stake. It is exactly the type of match for which Ronaldo was signed and Al Nassr fans will be hoping for a big performance from their captain.
The ex-Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United forward certainly has previous in that regard. Ronaldo is a big-game player who has produced many stellar performances in UEFA quarter-finals over the years. Here, Al Arabiya English highlights the best Champions League quarter-final displays of Ronaldo’s career.
Manchester United 7-1 Roma (2007)
Given Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 140 goals from 183 matches, it may come as a surprise to many that he didn’t actually manage to find the net in any of his first 26 games in the competition. That barren run lasted from his debut in September 2003 until April 2007, when he broke his duck in style against Roma.
Manchester United had lost the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico but it was rampant in the return match at Old Trafford. Ronaldo played a starring role, setting up United’s first and scoring two goals in a 7-1 rout. Ronaldo would net again in a semifinal first-leg win over AC Milan, but the Red Devils succumbed to the eventual champion over two legs.
Roma 0-2 Manchester United (2008)
Having scored the winner in the last-16 against Lyon, Ronaldo was then the scourge of Roma again as he set United on its way to a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico. His goal - a magnificent, leaping header, from Paul Scholes’ cross - was the seventh of eight Ronaldo strikes in the 2007-08 Champions League as he finished as the competition's top scorer for the first time. Ronaldo netted again in the final as Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United lifted the trophy with a penalty shootout victory over Chelsea in Moscow.
Porto 0-1 Manchester United (2009)
After being publicly courted by Real Madrid in the summer of 2008, Ronaldo made an agreement with United boss Ferguson to stay at the club for one more season before moving to the Bernabeu. His final Champions League campaign at Old Trafford was less prolific, but Ronaldo still came up with multiple decisive contributions - perhaps none more important than against Porto in the quarter-final.
With the tie locked at 2-2 following the first-leg at Old Trafford, Ronaldo unleashed a rocket from all of 40 yards out at Porto’s Estádio do Dragão. It thundered into the roof of the net, winning the match for United and winning Ronaldo the inaugural FIFA Puskas Award. It was the first and only time the Portuguese No. 7 claimed the award, given to the best goal scored in world football in a given calendar year.
Tottenham 0-1 Real Madrid (2011)
Ronaldo failed to reach the quarter-finals in his first season at Real Madrid in 2010, but a year later he scored in both legs as Los Blancos eliminated Tottenham Hotspur. The Spurs team, led by Ronaldo’s future Real Madrid team-mate Luka Modric, was playing in its first Champions League quarter-final in almost 50 years, while it was a fourth of Ronaldo’s career. The Portugal superstar’s single goal won the second leg for Madrid at White Hart Lane, as his speculative effort from distance was fumbled by Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. Madrid went on to lose to eventual champion Barcelona in the semi-finals.
Real Madrid 5-2 Apoel Nicosia (2012)
Real Madrid had cruised through the first leg in Cyprus with a comfortable 3-0 victory; back at the Bernabeu, Ronaldo ensured there would be no slip-up from Jose Mourinho’s side. He scored two goals in a 5-2 thrashing of APOEL and would bag two more in the semifinal against Bayern Munich - though Madrid lost 4-3 on penalties to the Bavarians, who were defeated by first-time winner Chelsea in the final.
Galatasaray 3-2 Real Madrid (2013)
Ronaldo scored in a 3-0 first-leg victory at the Bernabeu that looked to have put Madrid on course for a straightforward passage to the semi-final. In a cauldron-like atmosphere in Turkey, Ronaldo then netted the opening goal of the second leg. Three second-half strikes for Galatasaray set up a very nervy finish but Ronaldo found the net again in stoppage time to settle the tie beyond any doubt. Ronaldo ended the 2012-13 Champions League as top scorer for the second time with 12 goals, but there was semi-final heartbreak again - this time at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
Real Madrid 3-0 Borussia Dortmund (2014)
For the third straight year, Madrid won its quarter-final first leg 3-0 - with Ronaldo scoring the third goal to help avenge the previous season’s last four defeat to Dortmund. Picking up Modric’s through-ball, Ronaldo’s quick feet deceived Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller and he slotted in his 14th goal of a prolific Champions League campaign. Ronaldo went on to score in both the semi-final against Bayern Munich and final showdown with Atletico Madrid too, as Los Blancos ended their 12-year wait for La Decima - a 10th European Cup triumph. His total haul of 17 goals remains a single-season record in the history of the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid 3-0 Wolfsburg (2016)
After losing the first leg 2-0 in Germany, it appeared Madrid might be heading out of the competition early. But in the second leg in Spain, Ronaldo produced a virtuoso display of ruthless finishing as his hat-trick won the game and tilted the quarter-final in Los Blancos’ favor. The piece de resistance was Ronaldo’s third - a stunning free-kick that ultimately won the tie for his team. Zinedine Zidane’s side went on to successfully regain its Champions League title as cross-city rival Atletico Madrid was again beaten in the final. Ronaldo was the tournament’s top scorer for the fourth straight year with 16 goals.
Real Madrid 4-2 Bayern Munich (2017)
Ronaldo’s most influential Champions League quarter-final intervention unquestionably came across two legs against Bayern Munich in 2017. Madrid’s No. 7 scored both goals in a 2-1 first-leg win in Munich but Bayern battled back at the Bernabeu - winning 2-1 to send the tie into extra-time. Stepping up in style, Ronaldo - who had already scored in normal time - netted in the 105th and 109th minute to turn the tie around for Madrid and book a semi-final showdown with Atletico. Ronaldo scored another hat-trick in the first leg against Atletico and then two more in the final as Madrid beat Juventus to retain its title.
Juventus 0-3 Real Madrid (2018)
With Juventus looking for revenge for its 2017 final defeat, Ronaldo and Real Madrid were expected to face a stern test in Turin for their quarter-final first leg. However, Ronaldo scored after just three minutes to put Zinedine Zidane’s reigning champion ahead and then added another in the second-half as Madrid ran out a comfortable 3-0 winner. Juventus rallied in the second leg but Ronaldo’s goal in a 3-1 defeat sent Madrid through 4-3 on aggregate. He inspired his team to go all the way again and lift a third straight Champions League trophy, finishing as top scorer for an unmatched sixth successive year and seventh overall - one more than his great rival Lionel Messi.
Al Nassr 4-3 Al Ain (2023)
It was a mixed night for Ronaldo in last year’s AFC Champions League quarter-final second leg as Al Nassr welcomed Al Ain to Al Awwal Park needing to overturn a 1-0 defeat in the UAE. Two first-half goals from Soufiane Rahimi appeared to put Al Ain out of sight but Ronaldo and his teammates rallied - scoring three times to level the tie at 3-3 on aggregate. Al Nassr’s captain produced one of the worst misses of his career in the game’s second half but showed impressive resolve to score a clutch penalty in extra-time and then another in the subsequent shootout. Sadly for Ronaldo, it was not enough for Al Nassr to progress - despite winning the match 4-3, the Riyadh club lost on spot-kicks to Al Ain, which then beat Al Hilal and Yokohama F. Marinos to win its second AFC Champions League title.
