road to hit back at his critics and help Real
Madrid to a vital victory at Roma as he
continued his remarkable record in Europe
Cristiano Ronaldo proved a point. The
Portuguese forward had walked out of the pre-
match press conference on Tuesday following a
question about his difficulty in scoring away
from home this season. But he responded
emphatically on the pitch with a great goal to
help Real Madrid beat Roma on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old has faced criticism this season
for failing to score against big teams, but did
net twice against Athletic Bilbao in a 4-2 win at
the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday and was on
target again here, racing down the wing before
cutting neatly inside and hitting a fierce drive
into the top corner.
The shot was deflected, but the goal was
nevertheless impressive and just what he
needed after he left the Rome press room
irritated on Tuesday when asked about his
struggles on the road in 2015-16.
"Name a player that has scored more goals
away from home than me since I have been in
Spain," Cristiano barked. "You can't because
there aren't any."
That statement was correct: before Tuesday
night's games, Ronaldo had netted 152 goals in
162 away matches since moving to Madrid from
Manchester United. Lionel Messi, by
comparison, had scored 137 in 170 for
Barcelona in that same time frame.
And even though the Portuguese has found it
more difficult this term, there are signs that
could change under Zinedine Zidane. Ronaldo
appears much happier than he was with Rafa
Benitez at the helm and he hugged the
Frenchman after running to the sidelines to
celebrate his goal - something that never
occurred with the Spaniard in charge.
Ronaldo's record away from home in the
Champions League also speaks for itself: he
has scored in 17 of his last 21 away games in
the continental competition and has more goals
on the road (44) in the tournament than anyone
else (Messi is the next best with 35).On top of that, he has now netted in 60
Champions League fixtures, which is another
record, and he remains the highest scorer in the
competition with 89 goals in total.
"I am happy with Cristiano's contribution,"
Zidane said after the match. "But I'm happy with
all of the players. The most important thing is
the group and even though one player stood out
above all, Cristiano, all of the players are
important."
Zidane was making his Champions League
debut as coach and after two poor
performances in his previous away matches (at
Betis and Granada in La Liga), this was much
more encouraging.
Barcelona's 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon earlier on
Wednesday means Madrid are seven points
adrift of their fierce rivals in La Liga now and
even though Zidane said after the Roma game
that his team would continue to fight for both
the domestic and European titles, the
Champions League now looks the more likely
route to glory for Real this term.
That will be anything but easy of course with
Barca and Bayern Munich both in fine form and
Atletico always a threat, but a place in the last
eight looks all but guaranteed after the 2-0 win
in Rome and that can act as a stepping stone for
the 10-time European champions.
On Wednesday's evidence, Zidane already
appears to have restored the team spirit seen
when Madrid won La Decima in 2013-14 and
with the competition's greatest goalscorer back
in the groove when it matters most, Real are
now starting to look like the force they never
really appeared capable of being under Benitez.
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