Ronaldo Is Back! Manchester City Should Be Highly Concerned

Real Madrid and Manchester City are about to face off in this Wednesday in game that will determine who will go to the grand finale of the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, who on Tuesday gained access to the UEFA championship after overperforming Bayern Munich.

And as both teams gear up and Real Madrid presents themselves as favorites because Cristiano Ronaldo will back on the pitch after a speedy recovery from an injury that initially would have had him watch the final from the bench, including during the first leg against Manchester City, which ended in a 0-0 draw.

But now that the Portuguese “superman of modern football,” as British newspaper the Independent called him on Wednesday, is ready to go back on the pitch, Manchester City should be very worried because the statistics proof who much more efficient Real Madrid is with him in the field.

The numbers show that since the 2009-2010 season when Ronaldo was playing for Real, the team from Madrid, when it came to Champions League play, they won 71 percent of the games, while when he was absent, they only won 43 percent.

The Independent won 52 of 73 games with Ronaldo, and only 3 of 7 without him. Also, the goal average was greater. With Ronaldo, the team scored 2.42 goals per game, while without him they only scored 2.28 per game. The Portuguese player averages 1.06 assists per game.

Even on defense, the team does better with Ronaldo, as they average 0.8 goals per game against them. But when he's not playing, Real Madrid receives an average of one goal per game in Champions League matches.

Although not pertinent today, in La Liga games, Real Madrid performs massively better when Ronaldo is playing as they average 2.81 goals, but without him, only 1.75.

“Not only does he have almost unrivalled technique, he is, at 6ft 1in, dominant in the air and at 12.5 stone of pure muscle a powerful and strong customer; quite simply, he has everything,” the Independent added.

The second-leg of the semi-final is to be played at Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

So far this season, Ronaldo has scored 47 goals in 44 matches, which means he will be difficult to silence, while, let's not forget, Real Madrid also has Gareth Bale who has proven he can explode at any given time.

In the case of Manchester City, if they want to be in the Champions League final for the first time in their history, they will need to beat Real Madrid at home, something the Spanish team has only allowed twice this season.

They will also have to display a powerful offensive, as Real Madrid has not allowed a single goal in the last five games at their stadium. So the question is whether last year’s Champions League final will repeat itself; Atletico Madrid, who won last year, against Real Madrid.