Real hero Ronaldo sheds 'big game flop' tag
Reuters - Sunday 22 April 2012, 08:40
Cristiano Ronaldo may have
finally shaken off the tag of 'big game flop' after he scored a
dramatic winner for Real Madrid at bitter rivals Barcelona on
Saturday, all but wrapping up the Spanish.
Ronaldo's 73rd-minute strike was his third goal in his last
three visits to the Camp Nou and extended his La Liga record
tally this season to 42, one more than Barca forward Lionel
Messi, who succeeded Ronaldo as World Player of the Year.
Messi, who had scored 13 times in 18 previous 'Clasicos'
compared to five in 15 for Ronaldo, had a quiet night by his
high standards and cut a forlorn figure at the end of the game
as the Real players celebrated wildly.
The win, a first for the club in eight league games against
Barca, put them seven points clear of their bitter rivals with
four matches left and within touching distance of a first La
Liga title in four years.
Ronaldo, who now has 54 goals in all competitions this
season to Messi's 63, had earned a reputation as a player who
failed to perform in important matches but Saturday's exhibition
will help dispel that image.
"It was a very important goal because it earned the three
points for us," the Portuguese told reporters.
"I have scored the last three games I played here, but the
key to the match was the team," added the 27-year-old, who
became the world's most expensive player when he joined Real
from Manchester United three years ago.
"The seven-point lead leaves us in a comfortable position,
but we have to remember that the next games are also key.
"The team is in good shape, on form, happy, filled with
desire and aware of its responsibilities."
Ronaldo has another chance to prove he can produce when it
counts when Real seek to overturn a 2-1 deficit in Wednesday's
Champions League semi-final second leg at home to Bayern Munich.
Real are seeking a 10th European crown and could play Barca
again in next month's final if the holders can recover from
Wednesday's 1-0 reverse at Chelsea in their semi-final second
leg on Tuesday.
"Cristiano is the best player in the world," Real assistant
coach Aitor Karanka, standing in for his boss Jose Mourinho who
again declined to speak to the media, told a post-match news
conference on Saturday.
"Cristiano is always there when you need him," former Real
striker Emilio Butragueno, now a club director, said in an
interview with Spanish television.
"I am pleased for him and for the goal because he is
important," he added. "In a key game he scored a goal that could
give us a lot of joy."