Top 5 players who almost single-handedly defeated Real Madrid

Real Madrid have the ability to send shivers down the spine of the bravest footballers, be it in any generation. And there's a good reason why that happens. A side with a rich history, Madrid have some of the best players in almost every position which makes them a scary prospect. And what's more is they've had the reputation for decades now.

Yet, the number of shining stars that lit up the Bernabeu have failed to stop these a few players from annihilating them.

Let's have a look at the players that single-handedly defeated Los Blancos and left them lost for words.

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#5 Romario

The year 1994 couldn't have witnessed a worse start than this one.

Real Madrid visited Barcelona only to register one of the worst defeats suffered at the hands of their bitter rivals. With Johan Cruyff's Dream Team inching towards its end in 1994, the Catalans managed to savour one of the most memorable victories on the night.

Barcelona superstar Romario was at the height of his powers, as he made the scoreboard thrice in the span of 90 minutes alongside Ronald Koeman and Ivan Iglesias to cap off a brilliant 5-0 annihilation.

#4 Gary Lineker

Linekar in all his glory

The best performance produced by an English player in the El Clasico.

Barcelona hosted Real Madrid at the Nou Camp in 1987 in a La Liga fixture. However, little did they expect to face the horror of the Englishman netting a brace in the first five minutes of the game.

Lineker showed his fox-in-the-box ability for both the goals by being in the right place at the right time. The first goal came on a Victor Munoz while the second made its way after a failed Carrasco strike.

Lineker completed his treble and thus, Real Madrid's destruction, by capitalising on a Zubizaretta long ball and dinking it over the keeper. Los Blancos did claw back with two goals, but the match ended in Barcelona's favour with a 3-2 scoreline at the end.

#3 Robert Lewandowski

Robert Lewandowski is the only player to score 4 goals against Real Madrid in one game

24th April 2013.

Neither the Real Madrid players nor their most ardent fans will forget this date easily.

Real Madrid faced German giants Borussia Dortmund in the 1st leg of UEFA Champions League semifinals, only to see themselves thwarted in the round for the third time in as many years.

The scoreline read 4-1 at the end of 90 minutes as Los Blancos were outclassed by a 24-year-old Robert Lewandowski, who had just started turning heads across the world with his impressive displays for BVB.

Lewandowski fired 4 past Los Merengues, becoming the first and the only player ever to score a quadruple against them in the UCL. Also, he became the first player in the history of the UCL to score 4 goals in a semifinal game.

Dortmund went on to win the tie only to lose to Bayern in the final, but Lewandowski had made sure the world would remember his name.

#2 Leo Messi

The most famous Lionel Messi celebration of all time

Leo Messi doesn't just score goals against Real Madrid, he does that with passion. The Argentinian hardly fails to deliver in what happens to be the toughest club game in the world.

When it comes to the number of times he destroyed Barca's bitter rivals, Messi will definitely have a lot of memories to cherish and talk about. His two hattricks against Madrid, a 6-2 win in 2009, Barca's 5-0 humbling of Real Madrid in 2010 and so on.

For the record, Messi is the highest goalscorer (25 goals) and assist maker (14 assists) in the history of the El Clasico. Alongside Paulino Alcantara, he remains one of the only two players to net a hattrick twice against Los Merengues.

However, the game we are talking here contains perhaps the most iconic Leo Messi celebration up to date. Remember him silencing the Bernabeu after a stoppage-time winner in 2017?

The Barca forward scored a brace in that fixture. His first goal was a fine individual effort, cancelling out Madrid's 1-0 lead through Casemiro. Rakitic then put La Blaugrana forward, only to see Los Merengues equalising them with a James Rodriguez strike. As the game went down to the wire, Messi rose to the occasion and netted a winner in the last minute.

Real Madrid had tried dirty tackles and all sorts of other tricks to stop the diminutive Argentinian but emerged as losers at the end.

As for Leo Messi, is there a set of words enough to describe his greatness? Hard to find.

#1 Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho received a standing ovation at the Bernabeu

If you've ever wondered where Messi learnt the art of tormenting Real Madrid, the Brazilian is the answer. Much like his talented apprentice, Ronaldinho made a team of Galacticos kneel before him on multiple occasions, leading Barcelona through one of their darkest ages.

Ronaldo, Figo, Zidane, Beckham, Raul, Ramos, Casillas, Roberto Carlos; not one of them was able to contain Ronaldinho on the night of 19th November 2005.

After Samuel Eto'o grabbed a lead for the Catalans, it was a Ronaldinho show until the end.

The Brazilian produced an unmatched level of sorcery leaving the likes of Salgado and Ramos tantalized and helpless in his wake. He scored a brace, with both the goals come in similar fashion after slaloming past the defences.

However, one of the most beautiful acts of humanity took place as the final whistle blew. The Madrid supporters rose in appreciation and applauded Ronaldinho for even they knew that they had witnessed a great history before them.

As for Florentino Perez, hope he must have learnt his lessons when it comes to rejecting players based on their skin colours.