Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo’s five greatest games for Real Madrid
3. Real Madrid 3-0 Wolfsburg, UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final 2015/16
In the quarterfinals of 2015/16 Champions League, Real Madrid welcomed Wolfsburg to the Bernabeu with a surprise two-goal deficit from the first leg. Real Madrid had a huge task in front of them if they were to advance in the competition and add another European Cup after the coveted La Decima in 2013/14.
Real Madrid looked like a team on a mission. They dominated play from the opening whistle and tested the German defense with waves after waves of well-structured attack. They soon had their reward when Dani Carvajal found Cristiano Ronaldo placed perfectly for a finish at the far post to an open net within 15 minutes. But, the job was far from accomplished. Real still had to score if they were to survive.
The Carvajal-Ronaldo combination nearly worked again after just one minute. This time it was a ball in the air and Ronaldo had to get his head to it. But, the Wolfsburg defense managed to clear it at expense of a corner, little did they know what that corner would bring. Cristiano Ronaldo then headed the corner expertly with a glancing header into the inside side-netting on the far post and the aggregate tie was restored within 17 minutes of play in the second leg.
The game kept producing half chances on both ends but none found a finished product. It was a night destined to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s. Even Karim Benzema couldn’t convert some decent opportunities that fell for him. In defense, Real Madrid had one key man to thank, Keylor Navas. He held up like a wall in front of Real Madrid’s goal stopping all shots that came its way.
The second half started and it was the same story. For everyone on the pitch, something or the other seemed to go off. Sergio Ramos even had a towering-headed attempt placed perfectly yet it somehow failed to cross the line and the scoreline still read 2-0 to Real Madrid. Finally, at 77 minutes Cristiano slotted home a freekick in expert technique from yards outside the box. It went through the wall and into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Ronaldo completed his hat-trick and rescued Real Madrid’s chances. Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez both had two brilliant attempts denied by the goalkeeper. Today as we know, that semifinal qualification on a single goal’s margin remains the bedrock of the famous Champions League three-peat under Zinedine Zidane’s management. Real would go on from here to win the final on penalties against their city rivals, Los Rojiblancos in Milan to win their eleventh title or La Undecima.