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Come February 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to renew his rivalry with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
After the first draw was annulled following a mix-up, Manchester United drew the reigning Spanish champions in what looks like a tasty affair.
The Portuguese is no stranger to playing against them, having tormented the side on numerous occasions in the past.
Most of his goals against Atletico have come in La Liga with Real Madrid. But he also boasts a unique record of eliminating them every time he's met them in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
In fact, the Rojiblancos are one of his favorite opponents in terms of goals scored in the competition, but where do they rank on his all-time list?
Let's shave a look at Ronaldo's 10 favorite opponents in the Champions League:
#10 Lyon - 6 goals (12 games)
Ronaldo has come up against Lyon with three different sides - Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus - netting six times in the process.
Eight of his 12 appearances against the side came in the last-16, scoring only four times, with the French side also eliminating him twice, the last of which came in 2020 with the Bianconeri.
#9 APOEL Nicosia - 6 goals (4 games)
Nicosia are the only Cypriot side Ronaldo has faced in his career and with six goals in four games, you can say he enjoyed going up against them.
After drawing a blank in his first appearance, he netted twice each in the next three, including in the second-leg of Real Madrid's quarter-final clash in 2012.
#8 Galatasaray - 6 goals (3 games)
In the 2012-13 season, Los Blancos faced a then-unknown Galatasaray in the quarter-finals and Ronaldo struck thrice to secure a 5-3 win. Madrid went through to the semifinals despite a second-leg defeat.
The sides were paired up against each other in the group stages of the following season and the talismanic No.7 struck a hat-trick in Istanbul. He missed the reverse fixture through an injury.
#7 Malmo - 6 goals (2 games)
Six goals in just two games is ridiculously good. Against no other side does Ronaldo boast a better game-to-goal ratio on the list.
In the group stages of the 2015-16 season, the Portuguese ace struck twice in a 2-0 victory in Sweden before a four-goal salvo in their historic 8-0 drubbing at the Santiago Bernabeu.
#6 Atletico Madrid - 7 goals (10 games)
Ronaldo has played Atletico 35 times in his career and scored 25 goals in the process, seven of which have come in the Champions League.
The first, in the 2014 final, is also the most special, followed by two hat-tricks - in the semi-finals of the 2016-17 season and two years later in the last-16 to secure a famous comeback win for Juventus.
#5 Borussia Dortmund - 7 goals (9 games)
Ronaldo has tasted victory only four times in nine games against Borussia Dortmund, but personally boasts a good record with seven goals.
Five of them have come in three different group stage meetings, while the other two were in the 2012-13 semi-finals and 2013-14 quarter-finals.
#4 Schalke - 7 goals (4 games)
In 2014 and 2015, Real Madrid faced Schalke twice in the last-16, with Ronaldo scoring in all four games while also making three assists.
His incredible tally includes a brace on three occasions, the third being the most important as Los Blancos survived a 4-3 loss to advance into the next round.
#3 Bayern Munich - 9 goals (8 games)
Of all the German teams he's faced, Ronaldo has struck the most goals against Bayern Munich, the strongest of them all. Tells you everything you need to know about his big-game pedigree.
His incredible tally includes four goals at the Allianz Arena, the most for a visiting player in the competition's history, and one hat-trick at the Bernabeu in 2017.
#2 Ajax - 9 goals (7 games)
Speaking of hat-tricks, Ronaldo bagged his first in the Champions League against Ajax in 2012, which was also away from home.
His team had won every time he'd scored except in 2019 when De Joden beat him and Juventus in the quarter-finals despite the Portuguese netting in both legs.
#1 Juventus - 10 goals (7 games)
Quite ironically, Ronaldo has scored the most goals in the Champions League against his former side Juventus with 10 in just seven games!
More incredibly, he's scored at least once in every match, including his famous bicycle kick in the quarter-finals of the 2017-18 season and twice in the 2017 final.
