5 players who single-handedly defeated Real Madrid

You come up against Los Blancos, you need to bring your A-game. More often than not, even that isn't enough to get a result against them. There are some occasions when a player decides to do it all himself and even the might of Real Madrid may not be enough to stop him on such a day.

What's a certainty is that when a player is responsible for his team inflicting a heavy loss on Real Madrid, he is going into the history books. It's poetic when a star-studded team is brought down because of the performance of a single player, regardless of who's playing. Having said that, let's look at some of the all-time great performances against the 13-time Champions League winners.

5. Luis Suarez

No matter what kind of form these two side are in prior to El Clasico, you can rest assured that they will be pumped up for this fixture. It can be used as a springboard to turn your season around or just continue your superiority for the season. The game in October 2018 followed a similar story.

Valverde's Barcelona were top of the league as they hosted Julen Lopetegui's Madrid, who were 9th in the league and in poor form. Their Achilles' heel, Lionel Messi, was injured for the game. It was the perfect opportunity to bring about a change in fortunes and kick on from there.

It was a Barça squad with very little depth. Chumi and Munir even made the bench, which goes to show that the situation was quite bad with no Messi around for a bailout. The stage was set.

Up stepped Luis Suarez. He scored a spectacular hat-trick to lead his club to a 5-1 victory. He won a penalty before scoring it himself. Just when Madrid were threatening to come back at 2-1 as they are known to do, he scored two more goals to put the match to bed. The penalty, the header and a lovely dink over Courtois was a wonderful combination of finishes as Barça did not feel the absence of Messi.

This performance had consequences for Lopetegui as it turned out to be his final game in charge of Madrid. A brief statement was issued and he lost his second job in quick succession after being fired as Spain head coach two days before the World Cup began. El Pistolero played his part quite well.

4. Diego Milito

Real Zaragoza came into the semi-final against Real Madrid on a high. They had eliminated Atlético Madrid, winning 1-0 at the Vicente Calderon. In the quarter-final, they did even better as 4-2 home win over Barcelona powered them to a 5-4 aggregate win. Madrid took the trip to La Romareda seriously as Ronaldo, Beckham, Guti, Robinho and Roberto Carlos started.

What happened next is part of Spanish football folklore. The home side plundered six goals against Los Blancos, leaving them stunned. They won the game 6-1 as Zinedine Zidane came on as second-half substitute. The damage was done by then as Real Zaragoza scored a sixth goal after his substitution.

Diego Milito, usually known for leading Mourinho's Inter to a treble in 2010, recorded a tremendous poker as he scored the first 4 goals in the rout. The first 2 goals were right-foot finishes involving sublime control, with Sergio Ramos appealing for offside after the second goal, scored after a throw-in. The next 2 goals were both headers from centres by Cani.

Ewerthon, his partner up front, added a brace later on. The lead proved to be insurmountable as Real Zaragoza progressed to the final in spite of losing the second leg 4-0 at the Bernabéu. After defeating Atlético, Barcelona and Real Madrid in succession, it is almost cruel that they lost in the final against Espanyol.

Milito has fond memories of the evening.

"That day was a collective victory. I was the protagonist, because four goals are not scored every day and less to Madrid, but the whole team played a superlative match: Cani, Celades, the defense.."

Regardless of the loss in the final, Diego Milito has been immortalised in Real Zaragoza history.

3. Xavi

The 6-2 victory at the Santiago Bernabéu is historic for a number of reasons. It signalled the arrival of Guardiola's Barcelona on the world stage. It was a key game in the title race as second-placed Madrid were only 4 points behind leaders Barcelona coming into this game. Win at home and they would be one point behind with 4 game weeks remaining and crank up the pressure on the Catalans.

Another reason why this game is known is because of Messi's move to the false 9 position. It is now a famous anecdote as Pep Guardiola, in consultation with Tito Vilanova, called Lionel Messi late in the night and explained to him how he would be playing through the middle but in a deeper role and Eto'o would be moved out wide. He went on to have one of his best performances against Real Madrid, scoring twice and laying on one more.

Having said that, there is a reason why Messi was able to do such serious damage upfront in those days. This game is the perfect example of why he could afford not to worry about the build-up.

Xavi put on a masterclass in the game. He was simply unstoppable as he laid on four(!) goals for his teammates out of the six goals scored by Barça. As a matter of fact, both of Messi's goals were set up by Xavi, with the other two being for Carles Puyol and Thierry Henry. He dictated play with such remarkable ease that it was impossible for Madrid to get a foothold in the game.

Here's Xavi talking about the game from his point of view.

"It was spectacular. The result is already striking but it was the way we played, the feeling of superiority in the Bernabéu ... I had not felt like that before in my life. In fact, years ago, if we scratched there a point we would already consider it a good result. But in 2009 there was the need to win, to ratify our superiority. The feeling was tremendous."

Xavi provided 22 assists in 2008-09 and scored 8 goals. However, this performance may have been his best in a Barça shirt.

2. Robert Lewandowski

Lewandowski - Champions League - April 2013

With Robert Lewandowski scoring goals left, right and centre for Bayern Munich, one could be forgiven for forgetting that he starred for Borussia Dortmund first. His five-goal haul in 9 minutes is exciting, but his most iconic performance may just be this one against Real Madrid.

When the semi-final draw was made, the Spanish giants were up against the German duopoly. Barcelona were in bad shape due to Tito's illness with Jordi Roura in charge, but were expected to progress against Bayern Munich whereas Madrid were expected to defeat Dortmund to set up an El Clasico final, a first in history. However, Barcelona were mauled 4-0 at the Allianz Arena in Munich and all eyes were in Dortmund the following evening with Madrid set to visit.

Lewandowski blew away Los Merengues as he scored all 4 goals in a thumping 4-1 victory with Cristiano Ronaldo netting a consolation goal. Klopp's heavy metal football proved to be too much for Mourinho's Madrid as they could barely keep up with such an attacking set-up. A volley from the far-post eight minutes in from a Gotze cross set the tone for Lewandowski and Dortmund. Going into halftime at 1-1, he took matters in his own hands as two lethal finishes off his right foot and a commanding & authoritative penalty put the game to bed. Had it not been for Diego Lopez in goal, it could have been much more.

Klopp was gushing in his post-match interview.

"This performance will definitely go down in history. There are always the same films in the Borusseum [the club's museum]. You will see Lewa's four goals there soon."

It was enough to for a spot in the final as Madrid could not overturn the deficit in the second leg. While Dortmund ended up losing the final, it was one of those Champions League runs which fans can only dream of.

Unfortunately, Dortmund went on to lose Lewandowski on a free transfer, to their arch-rivals no less. Whatever the equation may be currently, he gave them an unforgettable night which is still spoken about with a hint of disbelief.

1. Lionel Messi

It must appear odd to place a player who has scored a brace over other who have scored four goals and hat-tricks. There's good reason for that.

Such was Barcelona's dominance that Madrid went on €500 million spending spree, bringing in Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema among others while Florentino Perez was re-elected. Watching Mourinho's Inter thwart the Catalans in the Champions League in 2010, Perez saw Mourinho as the perfect man to bring an end to this Barcelona behemoth.

Humiliated 5-0 at Camp Nou, the Portuguese shored up his ranks and earned a 1-1 draw in the league game at home. The rivals would go on to face three more times in the same season.

Valencia's Mestalla stadium hosted the Copa del Rey final as Ronaldo's header won Real Madrid the trophy in extra-time. It was seen as the beginning of the end of Barcelona's reign and vindication of hiring Mourinho. The Portuguese's mind games had taken a toll as there was so much animosity brewing, leading to factions in the Spanish national team.

It served as an appetising warm-up for the Champions League semi-final to come, their first European meeting since 2002. The momentum was with Madrid because of the cup win. Guardiola exploded in the presser before the game and is said to have generated a roaring applause from the Barça camp. The stage was set.

Lionel Messi took the game by the scruff of its neck and delivered one of the all-time great performances under pressure, at the Bernabéu no less. Ibrahim Afellay set up the first goal with a low cross from the right as Messi beat Casillas at the near post. The second goal was simpler and far more spectacular. He played a one-two with Busquets who rolled the ball in his path and Messi, with his burst of acceleration and wonderful dribbling, took it past four Real Madrid players to slot it past Casillas with his right foot from an awkward position with little balance. It was an extraordinary goal at a key moment in such a mammoth clash.

It was a psychological blow as that Madrid side was on the up. A second-leg draw at Camp Nou put Barça in the final where they beat United to win their second Champions League title in 3 years.

It's no surprise that this is ranked as one of Messi's most important performances, if not one of his best ever.