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Liverpool clinically demolished Manchester United 5-0 at Old Trafford in the Premier League yesterday for their biggest ever Northwest derby victory. Mohamed Salah bagged a hat-trick, while Naby Keita and Diogo Jota were also among the goals for the visitors.
The Red Devils were collectively (in some cases, like Harry Maguire, individually too) awful, having no answer to Jurgen Klopp's heavy-metal juggernaut. Not even Cristiano Ronaldo could do anything to save face, enduring a frustrating evening in which he also saw a beautiful goal disallowed in the second half.
Personally, it was also one of the most humiliating defeats of his career, but where does it rank in his career? Here are Ronaldo's five worst defeats ever, for club and country:
#5 Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid (La Liga, February 2015)
Ronaldo owned the Madrid derby during his nine-year stint with Real Madrid, scoring an all-time record of 22 goals, including three hat-tricks. But it wasn't all shinshine and rainbows.
In February 2015, when his side clashed with Atletico Madrid in a regular domestic encounter, Diego Simeone's charges left him ashen-faced, delivering a 4-0 thumping loss in La Liga.
Having also won the first game 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, the Rojiblancos rounded off their first double over their mighty city rivals in 64 years in the most resounding fashion.
Ronaldo, completely anonymous in the game, could only watch in horror.
#4 Germany 4-0 Portugal (FIFA World Cup, June 2014)
Humiliations in league and cup games are still normal. But on a stage like the World Cup? That hits really hard, and Germany hit Portugal for four during their clash at the Brazil showpiece seven years ago.
Having only lifted the Champions League with Real Madrid prior to this game, there was plenty of expectation riding on Ronaldo, who captained the Seleccao in the competition for the first time.
However, injuries derailed his preparations, and the Diemannschaft blew them away in their group opener, with Thomas Muller bagging a hat-trick on that historic day.
Ronaldo's enduring image of the occasion was hitting a one-man wall with a free-kick. Yes, he was that poor.
#3 Brazil 6-2 Portugal (International friendly, November 2008)
If you feel the Germany rout was Ronaldo's worst international outing, consider this. Although it was only a friendly, Brazil showed no mercy on him and his team, putting six past them.
Luis Fabiano scored a hat-trick on the night, while Danny and Simao were among the goals for the visitors. Ronaldo had absolutely no contribution that day, not even an assist.
His bag of tricks didn't yield much against a stoic Brazilian backline that always knew what he was up to. It's also the only time a Ronaldo team had shipped six goals in a game.
#2 Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool (Premier League, October 2021)
Ronaldo's record against Liverpool was poor enough, scoring only thrice in 15 games against them in Manchester United and Real Madrid colors.
In his last Northwest derby appearance before yesterday, the Reds ran out 4-1 victors at Old Trafford in 2009 as the sides fiercely contested for the league title.
The Portuguese ace scored a penalty that day, but he had no such luck on Sunday. He saw a beautiful goal disallowed for offside as the Red Devils were taken to the cleaners by rampant Liverpool.
#1 Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (La Liga, November 2010)
The only other occasion when Ronaldo lost 5-0 in a game was in El Clasico around this time 11 years ago. And it ranks higher than his defeat yesterday for the sheer clinicality with which Barcelona took Ronaldo's side apart.
In what was only his third Clasico appearance since joining Los Blancos, Ronaldo was still searching for his first goal in the fixture. But there was a lot of hype around this one considering both he and Messi were in great form.
While neither ended up scoring, his Barcelona nemesis was the architect of a historic win, even bagging two assists, while Real Madrid's No.7 ran around like a headless chicken.
