5 best El Clasico performances of the 21st century
1. Ronaldo puts in masterful performance in 2013 Copa del Rey
It would be unthinkable to create a list like this and not include Cristiano Ronaldo, the man who brought so much glory to Real Madrid in the 21st century. Madrid fans will still be reminiscing about Ronaldo since his move to Juventus and it’s because of performances like this.
Ronaldo was often criticized for his lack of performances in the big games, and he didn’t always perform to his utmost in El Clasico. This was a match to silence those critics, though, as the Portuguese forward ripped Barcelona apart on the way to the Copa del Rey final.
The game was tied after the first leg in Madrid, which finished 1-1 and set up a tense match at the Camp Nou. With home advantage many expected Barcelona to prevail but that was not to be the case as an inspired performance from Ronaldo led Madrid to the Copa final.
In the early stages of the match Ronaldo broke down the wing and sized Gerard Pique up one-on-one. The Spanish defender was no match for Ronaldo, who bamboozled the Barcelona center-back to win a penalty, which he confidently finished himself.
Ronaldo got his second of the match and made it 2-0 after a clinical counter-attack from Real Madrid. Raphael Varane made it 3-0 to Madrid and even though Barcelona got a late consolation it was Los Blancos that would advance.
Ronaldo gave one of his many inspired performances in a Real Madrid shirt and led his team to a final which would be played at the Bernabeu.
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El Clasico has provided us with some of the best individual and team performances that the world of soccer has ever seen. Hopefully this Sunday we’ll have another one of those performances to marvel over.