Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League knock-out stats give hope to Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Champions League knock-out stats are a ray of hope to Juventus as they aim to overturn a 2-0 deficit.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus last summer in a stunning transfer deal from Real Madrid. Most fans deduced that Juventus made the mega-money move due to the side’s continuous Champions League failures.

The Juventus fans were justifiably excited about Ronaldo’s arrival. The one who famously beat their club hero Gianluigi Buffon with a spectacular bicycle-kick would now replicate the heroics in the Black and White.

On February 20 this year, however, an angry Ronaldo emerged from Wanda Metropolitano after a game. In the significant presence of journalists, he arrogantly reminded the number of Champions League finals he won – which obviously includes the one against his current side.

Juventus lost 2-0 in the first leg of the Champions League round-of-16 tie against Atletico Madrid. It wasn’t a sight to behold – like Juventus fans had visualized when Ronaldo was announced.

However, is it too early to say that Juventus’ Champions League campaign has ended?

Definitely.

Cristiano Ronaldo loves a challenge, as we have seen on multiple occasions. And so, we crunched the numbers from the past to take a look at Ronaldo’s record when his team failed to win in the first leg.

Safe to say, Juventus’ fans can breathe easily for now.

Cristiano Ronaldo in Champions League knock-outs:

We have often seen Ronaldo turning up on big occasions. Tonight’s game against Atletico Madrid is as big as it gets for the Portuguese forward.

Since 2009/10 (the season Cristiano Ronaldo joined Real Madrid), there have been 11 ties where the Los Blancos faced a defeat or a draw in the first leg.

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored or assisted in 8 of them – helping Real Madrid overturn the deficit in six. Not bad, eh?

More importantly, Ronaldo has scored or assisted in the second-leg of every round-of-16 tie where Real Madrid failed to register a win in the first-leg.

In the four games, the forward netted in on four occasions, assisting once against Lyon in 2010/11. His most memorable performance in the round-of-16, perhaps, came against his former side Manchester United, where he scored in both the legs.

Ronaldo has faced Atletico Madrid once when both the sides shared the spoils in the first leg. He assisted Javier Hernandez from inside the box in the 88th minute to secure a place in the semifinals of the Champions League.

Of all the games mentioned in the infographic, Cristiano Ronaldo’s most defining performance came against Wolfsburg in 2015/16. Real Madrid shockingly conceded a 2-0 defeat to the Bundesliga side in the first leg. However, Ronaldo pulled the plugs to score a hat-trick and single-handedly lead Real Madrid to the quarterfinals of the competition.

The Los Blancos went on to lift the Champions League title.

Safe to say, Atletico Madrid can’t be complacent as they visit the Juventus Stadium for the second leg.

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Juventus takes on Atletico Madrid later tonight for the second leg. They could take inspiration from Ajax and Manchester United, who pulled a stunning turnaround in the second leg of their round-of-16 last week, against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain respectively.