Madrid's superstar is fit to return - and he can fire Real to the Champions League final
Real Madrid v Manchester City, Wednesday 7.45pm, BT Sport Extra
Manchester City are on the verge of a Champions League final, but the return of an old foe could crush those dreams on Wednesday night in the Bernabeu Stadium. We don’t believe everything in the papers – this morning Rosie, aged 23 from Swindon told us that alien life will be discovered in 2016 for example – however there are strong reports surfacing that Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit for Real Madrid, and that’s the worst possible news for Manuel Pellegrini and co.
The all-time leading Champions League scorer has 93 goals to his name, and has found the onion bag 16 times in his last 10 European appearances. While Ronaldo can boast of Champions League success twice before, in comparison Manchester City only made their debut in the competition in September 2011. Since then the Citizens have bagged 63 goals – Ronaldo has scored 65 on his own…
Manchester City are up against it – odds of to win the match and to qualify for the final reflect that – but some of Real Madrid’s statistics this season are simply mind-blowing.
- In their 18 home games they have kept nine clean sheets, scoring 67 goals and conceding just 14
- In Madrid’s last five home games in all competitions, they’ve scored 16 and conceded none
- Bar Spanish duo Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, Shalke are the only side to pick up a victory at the Bernabeu in the last five years
Zinedine Zidane’s men are as short as to win the match which might not tickle your fancy, however the for Madrid to win and Ronaldo to score at anytime is far more appealing.
CR7’s statistics need little flavour as they’re spicy enough. This season he’s scored 47 goals in 44 appearances – averaging more than a goal per game in all competitions for the fifth year on the spin. He’s already scored three Champions League hat-tricks this year. While we may be getting used to the dominance of Ronaldo, these statistics are still nothing short of jaw-dropping.
As a former Manchester United player, there’s a sneaking suspicion that he’d like nothing more than to knock City out of Europe – and click a tasty little midweek punt for us along the way.