Twitter Reacts to Cristiano Ronaldo's Performance from Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo failed to truly convince during Sunday's Clasico, with Real Madrid eventually succumbing to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of rivals Barcelona.
An early goal by Andres Iniesta put Barca ahead before a Karim Benzema brace appeared to give hosts Real the lead going into half-time. But Lionel Messi would score a record 19th Clasico goal to level things up, with everything still to play for in the second half.
Ronaldo forced Dani Alves into conceding a penalty when he made a sharp cut across the Brazilian, with the wing-back unable to avoid contact with the speedy winger.
Replays suggested the foul may have occurred outside the box, as shown by Football Vines:
Ronaldo didn't hesitate to convert, though, giving Real the lead once more.
Football Vertex shared the action:
Real were unable to hold onto their lead, however, as a foul by Sergio Ramos gave the Blaugrana a penalty of their own, which was converted by Messi. Ramos was also red-carded, further complicating matters for the host.
With Barcelona pushing for a late winner, Madrid were no longer able to create many chances, and yet another penalty late in the tie sealed the team's fate.
Angel Di Maria was undoubtedly Real's best player, with a number of timely runs that gave Alves fits. And with a very active Gareth Bale on the other wing, Ronaldo seemed almost lost at times. The first half in particular was not one of Ronaldo's finest displays.
But his goal in the second half gave the team hope it could pull off the win. As shared by Info Cristiano, it would have been enough on any other day:
Squawka shared the statistics for the Portuguese winger, confirming it had been an uncharacteristically quiet evening for Ronaldo:
Bundesliga expert Clark Whitney was convinced his performance wasn't out of the ordinary, given the circumstances:
Busby MUFC was equally unimpressed:
This fan still believes in the Portuguese superstar, however:
As for the man himself, he wasn't too satisfied with the performance of the officials, with the red card for Ramos perhaps the deciding factor in this match (via WeAreMadrid10):
Football Vines, meanwhile, couldn't help but take one last shot at the star winger:
With the loss, Real now share the top spot on the La Liga table with City-rivals Atletico Madrid while the gap with Barcelona is reduced to a single point.
And with the title race now wide open, Ronaldo and his teammates will face a difficult trip to Sevilla next week.
