On April 23, 2003, Old Trafford was host to one of the great individual performances as Ronaldo fired Real Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals with a sublime hat-trick against Manchester United.
Real had beaten United 3-1 in the first leg at the Bernabeu, with Luis Figo scoring a gorgeous opener and Raul adding a brace before Ruud Van Nistelrooy notched a late away goal.
“We have a very difficult game, but the one ray of hope is the away goal. If we can score first, it will be an interesting night,” Sir Alex Ferguson said after the defeat.
And Fergie was absolutely spot on with his prediction, as United beat Real in a thrilling 4-3 encounter, only to be eliminated 6-5 on aggregate.
An absolute classic, this had everything you could possibly wish for: two sides with a reckless abandon towards defending; David Beckham curling home a stunning free-kick at the height of Golden Balls-mania; the Galacticos of Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo and Roberto Carlos gliding around the pitch with breathtaking grace; Pierluigi Collina, the most iconic referee of all time, getting stuck in when tempers flared.
But most importantly, it had the best striker in the world, Ronaldo, O Fenomeno, displaying every ounce of his exhilarating talent.
The opener
Manchester United’s hopes all rested on scoring first, and the hosts started brightly with Van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs forcing Iker Casillas into saves.
But then in the space of 17 seconds, United go from being camped on the edge of Real Madrid’s penalty area to trudging back to the halfway line a goal down.
Of all people, it’s Zidane who robs the ball from Juan Sebastian Veron on the edge of the box before trading a triangle of passes with Roberto Carlos and Steve McManaman. Figo returns the ball to Zidane, who sprays a lovely pass to find Guti in space in the centre circle.
It’s at this moment that Ronaldo, the ultimate predator, smells blood, and immediately peels away from Rio Ferdinand. The England defender…
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