1. Cristiano Ronaldo’s revenge
Within a few years of Cristiano Ronaldo joining Real Madrid, Clasicos had turned from the fierce Madrid-Barca rivalry to more of a Ronaldo vs Messi contest. And, the story behind this iconic moment is similar.
It was the 2017 Supercopa De Espana Final 1st leg at a noisy Camp Nou that hosted the Los Blancos for the fixture. Pique scored an own goal which later was nullified by Lionel Messi’s penalty conversion. Ronaldo started on the bench due to his lack of pre-season practice and was brought on for Karim Benzema in the 50th minute.
He made the all-important difference in the 80th minute when he found the top right corner in an exquisite finish. He led a counter-attack and then was released by Isco. The 32-year-old showed everyone that he still had pace in his legs as he reached the ball before anyone else, dribbled past Pique, and fired it in past ter Stegen.
The most interesting part was his celebration, he took his shirt off and flashed the back of his jersey to a silenced Camp Nou imitating the same celebration Messi did 3 months back at Bernabeu. Though he was sent off by the referee for a misinterpreted dive, Ronaldo had his revenge and him flashing his jersey remains one of those Clasico moments that stay permanently locked in all Madridista minds.
The match ended in a 3-1 victory for Los Blancos as Asensio found the net again for Real with a last minute wonder strike putting curtains to a dominant away performance at Camp Nou.