Top 10 Champions League goals by Cristiano Ronaldo

UEFA Champions League is a stage for the strongest teams to give it their all and declare themselves as the best in the entire continent. It is also their gateway to International formats. The League is where one can see top-tier football with some of the best teams in the world and also some of the greatest players in the world.

One of such greatest players is the topscorer of the league and has scored over 140 goals till now. Cristiano Ronaldo stands atop everyone on the Champions League leaderboards when it comes to the number of goals scored.

He is one of the only two players to have scored more than 100 goals in their career alongside Lionel Messi. He has also scored a total of eight Champions League hat-tricks in his career and was the first player to reach the 100-goal mark in Champions League history. Let us take a look at the top 10 Champions League goals by Cristiano Ronaldo.

10. Powerful free kick vs Arsenal

The semi-final of the Champions League 2008/09 was destined to be fought between two rival clubs from the same region. Manchester United and Arsenal fought in a two-legged semi-final to advance to the finals of the tournament.

Manchester United won the semi-final with a scoreline of 4-1 against the Gunners. United went on to the finals and lost to Barcelona with a 2-0 scoreline. However, the 40-yard free-kick goal by Ronaldo was unforgettable and definitely one of the most defining highlights of the match.

When Ronaldo was awarded the free kick as a result of a foul committed by one of the gunners the 40-yard distance seemed just too long. However, Ronaldo made it look small and hit a perfect, accurate, and powerful shot straight into the corner of the goalpost and there was nothing even Arsenal’s star goalkeeper Manuel would have done to save the goal.

9. Crazy footwork against Schalke 04

In the 2014 UEFA Champions League Real Madrid was to go against Schalke 04 in the round of 16. Man U took home the victory, defeating Schalke on a rather humiliating scoreline of 6-1.

Ronaldo went on to show exceptional football skills and showcased amazing footwork which left Schalke’s defenders awestruck. Ronaldo carried the ball near the goalpost without losing contact with the ball and finished off with a good shot beating their goalkeeper in the process.

8. Clever free kick vs Bayern Munich

In the semi finals of the UEFA Champions League 2013/14 Bayern Munich had to face an emphatic defeat against Real Madrid who went on to win the finals against Atletico Madrid.

Real Madrid defeated Bayern in an aggregate scoreline of 5-0. Ronaldo bagged a brace in the second leg and scored an exceptional free kick at the last minute.

Ronaldo was awarded a free kick just outside of the penalty area. Knowing that the players would definitely jump on his kick, Cristiano tricked them by shooting the ball low and aven beat the goalkeeper with the speed he put to the ball.

7. Amazing solo goal vs Galatasaray

Real Madrid were already up 5-1 in the group stage matchup of the UEFA Champions League 2013/14. However an amazing solo play by Ronaldo ended up increasing the goal difference ending the scoreline with 6-1.

Karim Benzema had given a beautiful pass to Ronaldo. Ronaldo carried the ball towards opponents goal while dribbling past their three defenders and finally beating their goalkeeper to an extremely powerful shot.

6. Incredible free kick vs Apoel

In a match between Real Madrid and Apoel in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League in 2012 Ronaldo scored yet another unbelievable free kick from the 18-yard mark on the field.

What made this shot more fascinating was the fact that the free kick position was not at all good and there was not a single chance of the ball going inside the goal post. However, it was Ronaldo who hit an incredible curve ball to find the corner of the goalpost from this extremely hard angle.

5. Phenomenal Header vs Roma

In the Quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League 2007/08, it was Manchester United to fight against AS Roma who had shown Real Madrid their way back to home in the round of 16.

However, their clash with Manchester United didn’t go their way. Instead, it was a humiliating defeat as the team went on to lose both the home and away leg of the match giving us a final scoreline of 3-0.

Ronaldo was on another level that season and was seen scoring goals that were humanly impossible. One of these was seen in their matchup with Roma. When Paul Scholes shot the ball to set up a cross in the penalty area, the ball was seen getting out of their grasp. But Ronaldo took matters into his hands and with an insane speed and height on his jump gave up his body to shoot the ball into the goal with his head.

4. Precision header vs Chelsea

In the same season, Manchester United went on to beat Barcelona and get their spot in the finals against Chelsea. This final matchup ended up in United’s favor after the penalty shootouts.

Ronaldo gave an explosive start to the team by scoring yet another perfect header after 26 minutes into the game. When Wes Brown had made a beautiful cross into the penalty area, Ronaldo jumped high and aimed it perfectly to get the ball past Petr Cech and into the goalpost.

3. Unbelievable free kick vs Wolfsburg

Ronaldo was at his peak when he scored a hat-trick against Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarterfinals. He had also become the top scorer in the league after this match.

His hattrick goal came in the form of an inhuman free kick from the Portuguese player. Wolfsburg had formed an airtight wall in front of Ronaldo’s free-kick spot. However Ronaldo was able to find a loophole in the wall and shot a precision strike that completed his hattrick.

2. Unstoppable fireball vs Porto

In the same season, Ronaldo was awarded the Puskas Award for the most beautiful goal of the year. However, this was another goal that he had scored against the FC Porto in the quarterfinals of the league.

Anderson had passed the ball to Ronaldo near the halfway line. However Ronaldo gave his all and shot the ball with all his might in order to score. The amount of strength that was put on the ball was respected by the opposition goalkeeper as he couldn’t react to this precise and powerful shot by Cristiano.

1. Bicycle kick vs Juventus

In his last campaign for The Whites, Ronaldo scored a masterpiece goal against his yet to become club for the next season, Juventus. Daniel Carajaval had put the ball near the penalty area in a beautiful cross to Ronaldo. Although this was not an easy shot for Ronaldo as there were many fewer options for an optimal shot on goal.

That is when Cristiano went crazy and lifted his whole body in the air to shoot a bicycle kick. This was completely unexpected to all the players in the near vicinity as everybody stood stationary as the ball left Ronaldo’s foot and found the back of the net.

Seeing this magical shot from a 33-year-old was just unreal to everyone present at the stadium. Even the Juventus manager couldn’t resist his emotion of awe and was seen appreciating the goal. The whole of Juventus’ home ground stood to give Ronaldo a standing ovation for his amazing goal.