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#3 Supercopa de España - 2012: Cristiano Ronaldo loves scoring in El Clasico
It would not be a surprise if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fans told you that Supercopa de Espana was their most eventful watch of the year. The tournament has often seen two behemoths get on the scoresheet. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona take the tie spread over two legs very seriously and entertainment is guaranteed.
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It was the second time in a row that the Supercopa de Espana was an El Clasico clash after the 2011 edition was narrowly bagged by Barcelona. The early signs were not the most motivating for Los Blancos. They were greeted with last year's 3-2 scoreline again at the Camp Nou leg.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke the deadlock at the 55 minute mark with his second goal at Barcelona's home. It was a sight Madrid fans had become a bit used to now. Mesut Ozil, with an inswinger from the left corner, Cristiano Ronaldo ran and with his leap connected in the most meticulous manner.
A minute later, it was back to level pegging as Pedro scored straight from the kick-off in the 56th minute. The Catalans grew more into the game and Lionel Messi was offered his opportunity to get on the scoresheet. A clumpsy challenge by Sergio Ramos, in his own characteristic way, resulted in the referee awarding a penalty.
Up stepped the little master from the spot and deposited the ball in the bottom right corner. Barcelona 2, Real Madrid 1. Cristiano Ronaldo 1, Lionel Messi 1. By the way, just an interesting piece of trivia. In six El Clasico matches that were contested in 2012, Cristiano Ronaldo scored at least one goal in each of those. Lionel Messi, on the other hand, managed to get on the scoresheet in three.
#2 La Liga - 2014: Lionel Messi runs riot with a hat-trick
This El Clasico on 23rd March 2014 was the second highest scoring contest between the Spanish giants in 20th century. It had seven goals, a late match-winning penalty and the Spanish king of red cards was crowned in this particular game. Let's dive in.
Real Madrid were the table toppers in La Liga at the time with a four-point lead. Barcelona had to secure all three points to ensure they stayed a part of the trilateral title race that had Atletico Madrid contesting in it as well. The game started brightly as Andres Iniesta scored the opener. But in a quick-fire reply Karim Benzema's brace saw Real Madrid lead.
The stage was set for Lionel Messi to leave his mark on the game and he was apparently just getting started. A couple of minutes before half-time, the Argentine tried to set up Neymar. He scruffed his line and the ball rebounded off a Madrid player. Lionel Messi arrived quickly in the box to apply the finishing touch.
The scoreline read 2-2 and a street fight almost began in the Madrid penalty box, but thankfully no punches were thrown. Soon in the second half, Barcelona were chasing the game again. Dani Alves tripped Cristiano Ronaldo who was moving at a furious pace exactly on the line of the penalty box.
It was a hard call for the referee to make in real time and unfortunately he made the wrong one by pointing to the spot. However, Cristiano Ronaldo does not make wrong calls when he is on penalty duty and the inevitable occurred. The Portuguese hammered one into the bottom left-corner,
Enough, said Lionel Messi, and took the limelight from his greatest rival. Sergio Ramos denied Neymar a clear goal-scoring opportunity and was sent-off by the referee. This was his 19th red card in La Liga, a dark record to set on a glamorous night. "Anything Cristiano Ronaldo can do, I can do better," said the Argentine and converted the penalty without breaking a sweat.
But Lionel Messi wasn't done there, after all Barcelona were still tied at 3-3. Iniesta was at it again, giving an absolute nightmare to the 10-men in white. He was sandwiched between Xabi Alonso and Dani Carvajal while dribbling in the penalty box. Another penalty given, another penalty taken and another penalty scored by Lionel Messi.
Cristiano Ronaldo could only watch his nemesis take home the match ball.
#1 La Liga - 2018: Goodbye, friend!
Little did we know that this would be the final meeting between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in their respective Spanish outfits. This has also been the final meeting in which both the gentlemen got on the scoresheet. Barcelona were looking to finish an ideal top-flight season having not lost a single game.
Their rivals Real Madrid were trailing them by a fair margin and needed to pick up maximum points from whatever fixtures were left. The league, in general opinion, was Barcelona's and this clash was of little consequence. To La Liga that is, not to the ego of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The Catalans were the livelier of the two sides and were rightly rewarded for the urgency they showed in the 11th minute. Luis Suarez gave them the lead with a classy side-footed volley. Just minutes later, Los Blancos troubled the scorekeepers as Cristiano Ronaldo was in the right place at the right time.
However, that finishing touch was applied at the cost of a muscle strain. In his last El Clasico, Cristiano Ronaldo only stayed on the pitch for 45 minutes. The drama grew in the game as Sergi Roberto was red-carded before the break and the Catalans played the rest of the game with 10-men.
After the first half, there was no CR7 to provide entertainment and in his absence, Lionel Messi took charge of the matters. A neat finish and the home side were back in the lead. The Argentine knew there was a foul in the build-up which the referee failed to notice. Lionel Messi even admitted the same in the post-match interview.
But we couldn't care less. In what was going to be the last El Clasico to feature Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, they had both graced the scoresheet. But no one was aware at that point of the Portuguese's intent to leave Real Madrid when the season ends. So who's goodbye was it exactly?
This El Clasico was also made memorable by Andres Iniesta, who featured in his last. The Spanish maestro was substituted near the hour-mark and received a rapturous reception at Camp Nou.
