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Cristiano Ronaldo: Real Madrid star better than Lionel Messi at THIS - Stewart Robson
CRISTIANO RONALDO is the best player in the world at pulling defences out of shape and exploiting the openings.
That’s the view of ESPN FC’s Stewart Robson.
Having scored just three World Cup goals across the 2006, 2010 and 2014 finals - the 33-year-old doubled his tally in 90 minutes with a 51st career hat-trick in a breathless 3-3 draw with Spain last night.
Ronaldo scored a penalty, benefitted from a David de Gea error and scored an incredible 25-yard free-kick with just two minutes of normal play to earn Portugal a point in their Group B opener.
The Real Madrid forward twice put the European champions ahead only to be cancelled out by Diego Costa both times, with a stunning Nacho strike having looked as though it would be enough to seal a Spain win.
He is the best I’ve seen in recent times at making runs for defenders, taking defenders away and then finding the space in the box.
But Ronaldo drew a free-kick from Gerard Pique and curled home the resulting set-piece to become just the fourth man ever to score goals at four different World Cups with his 84th international goal on his 151st cap.
And Robson was full of praise for Ronaldo, who also helped Madrid win the Champions League last month with an eighth-straight 40-plus goal season having maintained a devastating scoring record despite having to adapt his playing style with age.
“When he couldn’t run past people anymore with the ball, he said, ‘I’m going to be the best goalscorer I can possibly be. Every time the ball comes into the box I’m going to be in the right sort of areas and I’m going to work the defenders’,” the ex-Arsenal midfielder said on ESPN.
“He is the best I’ve seen in recent times at making runs for defenders, taking defenders away and then finding the space in the box.
“Every time the ball went wide, you could tell the two centre-backs were having a major panic about where Ronaldo was.
“You have to admire him for changing his game so that he can stay on top of the world alongside [Lionel] Messi.”
Former Manchester United man Ronaldo and Portugal return to action on Wednesday against Morocco in Moscow (1pm).