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Cristiano joins Lionel in the limelight

Comment: 0 November 3rd, 2011 by: admin

CRISTIANO Ronaldo won’t just let Lionel Messi shove him away from the limelight.

A day after the Argentine made waves, Ronaldo concocted a superb feat of his own.

The Portuguese superstar did not only score both goals in Real Madrid’s 2-0 clipping of Lyon on Wednesday, he also reached a personal landmark by ramming in his 100^th career goal.

Ronaldo’s marvellous performance powered the Los Blancos into the knockout phase of the Champions League in the company of the Messi-led Barcelona and AC Milan, who both progressed on Tuesday.

Messi netted his 200^th goal following a wondrous hat-trick, spearheading Barca’s 4-0 demolition of Viktoria Plzen, but Ronaldo briskly responded to his great rival with a similar brilliant show against the French outfit.

Marking his 105^th match for Madrid since joining from Manchester United in 2009, Ronaldo began his show by curling in a free kick in the 24^th minute and then notched his 100^th goal through a penalty kick in the 70^th after fishing a foul off Mouhamadou Dabo.

“All the goals are special all the more so when they help the team to win,’’ said Ronaldo after Real Madrid tallied their fourth win out of four matches, leaving them the only team in the competition with a 100 per cent mark.

Ronaldo added he’s happy they were through to the next round after hurdling a “difficult game against a tough team.’’

In other games, Wayne Rooney took on an unfamiliar central midfielder’s role and clicked as Manchester United brushed aside Otelul Galati 2-0 at Old Trafford to seize Group C lead; Manchester City grabbed second spot in Group A with a 3-0 win at Villarreal as Yaya Toure netted twice and Mario Balotelli added a penalty strike, and Mario Gomez completed a hat-trick in the first half to help Bayern Munich secure a 3-2 triumph at home over Napoli. Ajax follow Real Madrid in Group D after a 4-0 win at home over Dinamo Zagreb.

United improved to 2-0-2 as Antonio Valencia scored in the 8^th minute after tapping in a cross from Phil Jones, while Rooney connected in the 87^th through a 30-yard short that deflected off Cristian Sarghi.

Sir Alex Ferguson praised Rooney for playing the role assigned to him very well, saying: “He showed great awareness of that role. His selection of passes was very good and he showed great energy and determination.’’

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