Cristiano Ronaldo: A cannon to conquer Old Trafford

Another great performance by Cristiano Ronaldo against the eternal Real Madrid's rival. Although he could not score after coming on the field in the 57th minute (alongside with Khedira) replacing Benzema, Real Madrid was slowly improving to gain full control of the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo replacing Benzema

Cristiano Ronaldo did not start the match against FC Barcelona at the Bernabeu. There was more at stake than pride, and for this reason the Portuguese striker was not including in the starting lineup of Jose Mourinho. After the great match last Tuesday at the Camp Nou, CR7 remained on the bench and showed how much appreciates the importance of group goals.

This place on the bench at the start of the Classic, for resting, was a Mourinho's decision, focused on the Champions League match on Tuesday, something that did not influence in the play of the Real Madrid striker, who shot six times in the 36 minutes he was on the pitch. Four of those shots were from a free kick, three of them on goal. It should be noted that the two he shot from the front of the penalty area were two art works: the first cleared by Valdes with many problems and the other crashed in the goal post. Cristiano Ronaldo had two more chances; one after another solo run and with a header after a set piece.

In the pass, Cristiano Roanldo was not prolific, giving 5 (2 to Essien and 1 to Modric, Varane and Ramos). Not surprisingly, he ended 11 of the 18 plays in which he participated, making it clear from the start that his sole purpose was the opposite goal. He received more passes (15 in total), with Morata as his top assistant with 5, followed by Pepe and Modric, with 3. He had not to work hard on the defensive, because of the dominance of Real Madrid in the last half-hour, so he just made ​​a foul and did not recover any ball. Instead, he lost the ball 3 times and received the same number of fouls. He also failed the two dribbles attempted.