Juventus saw Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed a successful return to the Champions League in the winning game against Ferencvaros. The Old Lady scored a 2-1 victory and the Portuguese superstar cleared his first goal of the season in the competition and managed to seal a bonus. He matched Lionel Messi's UCL record.
Ronaldo's chief rival boasts of 70 home goals in Champions League matches and on Tuesday, the Juve striker decided to level things up. His ninth goal in the ongoing campaign makes for the equalizer with Messi, and at the same time, Ronaldo is showing no sign of slowing down.
At 35 years old, the Portugal captain appeared in five Serie A matches for Juventus and he continues to be a dependable scoring machine. His attacks on the net registered eight successful attempts and naturally Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo is happy with his star's superb performance.
Pirlo said Ronaldo never fails to impress every game and is proving that he is both a champion and a professional.
"He is a great professional, as we already knew ... He is a real champion and sets the example for everyone around him, both in the matches and in training," Goal reported the team manager as saying.
If Juventus will continue to campaign with the same inspired performance and Ronaldo can sustain the good run in form for the entire season, the Italians could get another shot at the Champions League title. And Ronaldo is no stranger to tasting success in Europe's most prestigious competition.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has a collection of five UCL title wins - one with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid - on the back of 131 total goals scored for the three big clubs he represented in the Champions League. Pirlo is looking forward that Ronaldo can continue his winning ways in the UCL wearing the Juventus shirt.
The latest milestone in the UCL is sure to boost the case of Ronaldo being one of the best players in the game. However, Wayne Rooney, his former United teammate, said that of the great footballers he had worked with, the Portuguese will not be his top choice.
The top man for the United legend has to be Paul Scholes, and Rooney described his fellow club hero as "brilliant," per the report from Mirror.
"The things he could do with the ball, he obviously weren't the quickest but he was so sharp you couldn't get near him ... It was brilliant for me, first hand, to watch him and learn," Rooney explained.
He made clear though that his preference is a personal choice. Rooney said he is in complete agreement that Ronaldo and Messi are likely the greatest in the game of football.
