Analyzing Cristiano Ronaldo's Performance vs. Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo moved up the all-time Champions League goalscoring list with his brace in the first half against Juventus as Real Madrid notched a 2-1 win.

Those two goals gave the Madrid winger his 56th and 57th goals in the competition, putting him ahead of Ruud van Nistelrooy for third, via ESPN's Paul Carr.

He's also already halfway toward setting the record for goals in one UCL campaign, via ESPN's Dale Johnson.

The first goal was the result of a well-timed run from the star. In the fourth minute, Juventus right-back Martin Caceres failed to hold the line, playing Ronaldo onside. He received the pass from Angel di Maria, then rounded Gianluigi Buffon to finish at what ended up being a tough angle.

The second one was much easier. Following the award of a penalty against Juve, Ronaldo drilled home from the spot in the 28th minute to put Madrid 2-1 ahead after Fernando Llorente had equalized in the 22nd minute.

The Portuguese winger has been clinical with his penalties in the Champions League, via Carr.

Madrid were lucky that Ronaldo had such a huge first-half. Aside from his two goals, Los Blancos were only marginal on the pitch. Karim Benzema was invisible, and the trio of Luka Modric, Asier Illarramendi and Sami Khedira had a hard time against the Juventus midfield.

You can't read too much into Ronaldo's second goal, despite his sterling record from the penalty spot. That first strike, though, was a great example of how it just takes one moment of brilliance from Ronaldo to turn a match on its head.

Ronaldo made sure not to start that run too early and get caught offside. He saw the space in behind of the Juventus back four, made the most of that space and remained calm when he was bearing down on Buffon.

Plenty of players either would have started the run too late or hit the shot off the woodwork or into the side netting, ruining a golden chance.

Performances like this are part of the reason Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world.

This likely won't be remembered as one of his best matches ever.

But when Real Madrid needed him to step up, he did just that and finished his opportunities.