|
|
Despite failing to score, the 32-year-old remained vital to Los Blancos as they saw off Napoli in the last-16 first leg to the tune of a 3-1 scoreline.
It's becoming clear that Ronaldo has lost the sheer power that was once his trademark, be that down to the accumulating effects of injuries or simply the ravages of time, but that has opened up a more intelligent, team-based ethic to his game.
In setting up Toni Kroos' winning goal, the forward chose to hit the byline skilfully and looked up to pick out a teammate, rather than think about working towards a shot at Pepe Reina.
The same occurred late in the game as Ronaldo picked up the ball 20 yards out and, instead of barrelling towards goal, looked up and smartly picked out Marcelo, only for the Brazilian to skew the chance wide.
It was a theme running throughout the night and indeed the past few weeks, as the Portugal captain made smarter, less direct runs on the ball and used his teammates more to continue his evolution that could see him maintain his position at the top of the sport for years to come.
|
|
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق