Barcelona vs Real Madrid: Huge Goal Cements Cristiano Ronaldo as Clutch Player

Although Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has always been considered one of the top soccer players in the world, there has been some question as to whether he can come through when it counts. The questions are no longer, however, after his performance against Barcelona in El Clasico.

After relinquishing a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute, it looked as if Los Blancos might be in trouble. Just three minutes later, however, Ronaldo did what elite players are supposed to do as he netted the eventual game-winner.

The win essentially guarantees that Real Madrid will win the La Liga title as it now holds a seven-point advantage over Barca with four matches left to play. Almost every great player who has ever played the beautiful game has a signature goal or moment to their credit, and this may very well be Ronaldo's when all is said and done.

Not only does the win put Madrid in great position to win La Liga, but the win came against its bitter rival. Also, Ronaldo did it against one of the men he has been compared to so often in Lionel Messi. While few will dispute that Messi is still the best in the world, he was shut down on Saturday, while it was Ronaldo who made the defining play of the game.

Many have considered Ronaldo to be a player who was more about style than substance. He has always put up fantastic numbers, but he has never really been viewed as a winner like Messi. His clutch goal should change that, though, as it means that he will likely lead Real Madrid to a title and he will be the biggest driving force behind it.

In a lot of ways, Ronaldo has been akin to NBA star LeBron James. Although James has been among the best players in the league since his rookie season, there has always been a caveat that he couldn't get the job done in big games. That may still be true of James, but with a single goal Ronaldo has conquered all of his demons and silenced his critics.

Ronaldo has scored 41 goals this season to pace La Liga along with Messi, but none was bigger than the one he scored on Saturday. The true test for Ronaldo once Madrid clinches La Liga will be to build off of this performance and make clutch plays a regular part of his arsenal.

If Ronaldo never scores another huge goal in his life then he may be called a one-hit wonder, but you have to believe that scoring the decisive goal against Barcelona gives him a world of confidence that he didn't have before. Because of that, this may prove to be the first of many career-defining goals for Ronaldo.

No matter what he does, Ronaldo may never be recognized as the best player in soccer, but now nobody can claim that he isn't clutch.