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Cristiano Ronaldo came out on top of his first battle with Lionel Messi in 2 years, but it was a 22-year-old American who stole the show

Dec 9, 2020, 17:32 IST
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Weston McKennie.Getty/David Ramos
  • Cristiano Ronaldo came out on top of his first battle with Lionel Messi in two years in a Champions League clash Tuesday night.
  • However, it was 22-year-old American Weston McKennie who produced the stand out moment on the night, slamming home a superb flying volley either side of two Ronaldo penalties.
  • "Unreal performance from the team tonight!," the USMNT star tweeted after. "We accomplished what we came here to do!"
  • Juventus' win means Ronaldo has now won 11 of his 36 career meetings with Messi, while the Argentine has won 16. The remaining nine games have been draws.
  • Barcelona's defeat on Tuesday was their first loss in the Champions League group stage in over four years.
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Cristiano Ronaldo came out on top of his first battle with Lionel Messi in two years in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but it was a 22-year-old American who produced the match's stand out moment.

Weston McKennie scored a superb flying volley either side of two Ronaldo penalties as Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0 to overtake the Catalan side and finish top of Group G.

You can see highlights of the game below. McKennie's volley comes at around one minute and 30 seconds:

McKennie's strike was his first ever in the Champions League, and comes just days after he scored his first Serie A goal for Juventus in a 2-1 win over Torino on Saturday.

"Unreal performance from the team tonight!," the USMNT star tweeted following the win. "We accomplished what we came here to do!"

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Ronaldo makes ground on Messi in iconic rivalry

Tuesday's clash between Ronaldo and Messi was their 36th in professional football, with their first coming all the way back in 2008 when Barcelona met Manchester United in the Champions League semifinals.

Juventus' victory means Ronaldo has now bested his Argentine rival 11 times, while Messi has come out on top 16 times. The remaining nine games have been draws.

"We are very happy. We knew it was a nearly impossible mission to come to Camp Nou and get this result, but we did it," said Ronaldo after the game.

The Portuguese star missed Juventus' home game against Barcelona in Turin earlier in the season due to having tested positive for COVID-19.

"The key was to enter with the right spirit, after 30 minutes we were already 2-0 up and from there we understood that it was possible and we made it happen."

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"This result can be a great confidence boost, we needed a win against a team like Barcelona, which, regardless of the difficult moment, is still a great team."

Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo added: "Ronaldo was very motivated to put in a good performance here against his eternal rival, so when you're that motivated, it becomes simple."

Until Tuesday evening, Barcelona had not lost a Champions League group game in 25 matches, last facing defeat against Manchester City in November 2016.

The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League takes place on Monday December 14.

Read more:

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