Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and claimed one assist in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Chelsea in Miami.
Wednesday’s match – played in front of 67,273 fans at the home of NFL’s Miami Dolphins – was the final of the inaugural Guinness Champions Cup.
While much of the pre-game talk centered on the teams respective coaches, Carlo Ancelotti and José Mourinho, it was the players who stole the show come kick-off.
And none more so than Ronaldo, who ensured that he commanded Thursday’s headlines.
By his own lofty standards the Portugal sensation had been in somewhat muted form en route to the final despite scoring and delivering an assist in Sunday’s semi-final against Everton . It is just pre-season after all.
But against Chelsea he reminded the world why he is considered one of the two best soccer players on the planet alongside Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.
It was a powerful performance that does not bode well for Real’s forthcoming opponents and one that failed to surprise his old manager.
Chelsea coach José Mourinho, who had seen his team conquer AC Milan in their semi-final , departed the Bernabau at the end of last season after three years in charge.
“He’s a great player,” USA Today reports Mourinho as saying. “If he scores goals, that is not news. If he doesn’t score goals, that would be news.”
In yesterday’s match, Ronaldo’s brilliant free-kick was followed by a superb run and header – enough to see his team surge past Chelsea, who had earlier leveled Marcelo’s opener with a deft finish from Ramires.
Did you see the game? How good did you think Ronaldo’s performance was?
