A Closer Look - Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Important' Goals

After seeing this comparision chart (via @optajose) of Leo Messi v Cristiano Ronaldo goals in La Liga and tweeting this, I decided to research some of Ronaldo’s “important” goals. What better place to look than Europe’s most prestigious competition, UEFA’s Champions League.

First, let’s compare the 2 players statistics during the Tournament Stage of this year’s Champions League (so far):

Cristiano Ronaldo:

12 appearances (1,201 minutes played)

6 goals

1 goal every 200 minutes played

2 assists

24 out of 53 total shots were on target (45.3%)

Leo Messi:

            12 appearances (957 minutes played)

11 goals

1 goal every 87 minutes played

3 assists

            31 out of 47 total shots were on target (66.0%)

Those stats speak for themselves. Cristiano’s stats look decent but let’s go more in-depth on Ronaldo’s actual influence to see how “important” they affected Real Madrid.

I believe that the first 2 Group Stage matches are the most important because they set the tone for how the Table sets up. Here’s Ronaldo’s statistics during these first 2 matches:

1^st Group Stage Match: vs Ajax: 0 goals, 0 assists (RM win 2-0)

2^nd Group Stage Match: vs Auxerre: 0 goals, 0 assists (RM win 0-1)

Important Goal/Influence:

3^rd Group Stage Match: Madrid were currently 1^st place (6 pts) in their Group, up against (Serie A Champions) AC Milan who are 2^nd place (4 pts). Going to give Ronaldo credit here, he scores the opening goal (15’) from a Free Kick from 23m out (goal travels straight through the wall) and provides an assist to a Mesut Ozil shot that takes a deflection into the net. Real Madrid wins 2-0 and moves up to 9 points total in the Table.

4^th Group Stage Match: At the San Siro vs AC Milan, 0 goals, 0 assists. (RM draw 2-2)   

5^th Group Stage Match: Real Madrid already up 2-0 late into the match vs Ajax, Cristiano scores 2 (70’, 81’) goals.  (RM wins 0-4)

Final Group Stage Match: With 1^st place already clinched in the Group Stage, Cristiano scores a goal and adds an assist. (RM wins 4-0)

Knockout Stage!  

            Round of 16, vs Lyon, 1^st Leg: 0 goals, 0 assists. 2^nd Leg: 0 goals, 0 assists. Real Madrid advance, Aggregate score: 4-1.

            Quarterfinals, vs Tottenham, 1^st Leg: Spurs go down to 10 men in the first 15 minutes by Tottenham’s leading scorer Peter Crouch earning 2 yellow cards and getting sent off.  Already up 3-0 in the 87^th min, Ronaldo scores a goal (GK error as well). Madrid wins 4-0……2^nd Leg: Spurs are without Crouch, due to suspension, and already up 0-4 on Aggregate. So Madrid parks the bus in the 1^st half. Cristiano scores in the 2^nd half and Real advances on Aggregate 0-5.

            Semifinals, vs Barcelona: Not much needs to be said here. Biggest stage and matches of the European football season so far. El Clasico. All the attention and hype. And Ronaldo responds with...

1^st Leg: 0 goals, 0 assists. 2^nd Leg: 0 goals, 0 assists.

Real Madrid eliminated by Barcelona, Aggregate Score: 1-3.

So out of all Cristiano Ronaldo’s 1200+ minutes and 6 goals during the Champions League, only 1 of them were of consequence and had a real effect on the outcome.

Cristiano: "Porque?!" (Getty Images, uefa.com)

All stats acquired from uefa.com