Six heaviest defeats faced by Cristiano Ronaldo in his league career

Despite his many achievements, the Portuguese has also faced some disappointing moments.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a modern-day legend and there is no doubt about it. He has played in various leagues around the world, starting from Portugal to England, then Spain and Italy. He has finally returned back to Manchester United but the club’s form is disdainful. The Portuguese has won every possible tournament at the club level, be it his wins in domestic leagues and competitions as well as European competitions. But like any other sportsperson, even Ronaldo had some embarrassing defeats on the pitch which the forward might want to forget. Here are the five heaviest defeats of Ronaldo’s league career:

6. Brentford 4-0 Manchester United (2022)

Just one year after making his sensational return to Manchester United, Ronaldo is looking for a move away from the club. The appointment of Erik ten Hag at the start of the 2022-23 season was meant to get the Red Devil's project back on track after a horrific 2021-22 campaign. But the start of the Erik ten Hag era has not gone to plan at all. Manchester United suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat against Brentford on 13th August 2022 in the Premier League. Mistakes from David de Gea and Christian Eriksen handed the bees a 2-0 lead. While Brentford went 4-0 up with the help of a brilliant counter attack and an excellent corner kick routine.

5. Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFAlqBepDjw

Atletico’s biggest win over Real Madrid in the Ronaldo-era came in 2015. The Madrid derby is usually an intense match and is mostly dominated by Real Madrid. But the 2014/15 season was different. On 7th Feb 2015, when Real Madrid was playing away from home, they suffered a heavy defeat of 4-0 from their rivals Atletico Madrid.

During that season, both these clubs faced each other over two legs in the Champions League semi-finals as well as Copa del Rey Round of 16. Real Madrid won the Champions League tie whereas Atletico won the Copa del Rey tie.

4. Real Madrid 0- 4 FC Barcelona (2015)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM9GK5yA5EQ

2015 certainly wasn’t probably one of Cristiano Ronaldo’s best years in terms of his team getting battered. Even though Real Madrid won the Champions League that season, they suffered another 4-0 defeat by closest rivals FC Barcelona. It was the 2015/16 season and the crowds at Santiago Bernabeu had gathered to watch the most anticipated game of La Liga.

But unfortunately, the home team was a victim of an excellent display of football. First-half goals from Suarez and Neymar were followed by two more goals in the second half by Suarez and Iniesta.

3. Brighton 4-0 Manchester United (2022)

Manchester United is having a torrid season. The season could not get any worse for them after losing to Brighton by a 4-goal margin. Their defense looked in absolute shambles against a team that is not known for scoring many goals. The embarrassment could be seen on Cristiano Ronaldo's face who has given his all this season for the Red Devils.

A team that looked very strong at the start of the season absolutely lost track of itself. A top-four finish was certain considering the strength of this team but now even a Europa League place looks doubtful.

2. FC Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mLnuCORMrU

One of the most humiliating defeats of Cristiano and then manager Jose Mourinho’s career came at Camp Nou on 29th November 2010. The goals were scored by David Villa (2), Pedro, Xavi, and Jeffren. The defeat came as a shocker since Madrid had come to Camp Nou with 7 successive wins and was soaring confidence. FC Barcelona replaced Real Madrid at the top of La Liga after that game. They eventually went on to win the league with 96 points followed by Real Madrid with 92 points.

1. Manchester United 0-5 Liverpool (2022)

Cristiano Ronaldo certainly must have not expected his return to Manchester would turn out like this. In one season, he has suffered two of his league career’s biggest defeats. The most painful must have been their loss to their biggest rivals Liverpool. On October 24, 2021, Liverpool traveled to Old Trafford to grab one of their biggest wins of the season. A hattrick from Mohammed Salah was the highlight of the match. Paul Pogba was red-carded in the 60th minute which left Man Utd with 10 men on the pitch. This match also led to the sacking of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

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** This article was last updated on August 14, 2022.