Ronaldo's European debut for Real short on spectacular
Ronaldo provided one excellent assist, saw a lethal finish disallowed for offside and provoked a few frustrated whistles from the crowd as he made an eventful first European appearance for Real Madrid.
Ronaldo provided one excellent assist, saw a lethal finish disallowed for offside and provoked a few frustrated whistles from the crowd as he made an eventful first European appearance for Real Madrid.
The Brazilian, signed from Inter Milan in a deal worth 45 million euros just before the transfer deadline, made a dramatic Real debut earlier this month, scoring 60 seconds after coming off the bench and adding a second in a 5-2 win over Alaves.
There was to be no similar story back at the Bernabeu on Tuesday as he played for his new employers for the first time in Europe in what was an unsatisfying 2-2 draw with AEK Athens in Champions League Group C.
He did provide a couple of flashes of brilliance, the first coming in the build-up to Steve McManaman's second goal.
Head bent in concentration, the Brazilian twice passed his foot over the ball, feinting one way, then the other, before slipping a pass through for the English midfielder to control in the penalty area and beat AEK keeper Dionysis Hiotis.
There was also an astute dummy that set up Guti for a shot and one promising run on the left of the area but otherwise the first half was quiet.
Twelve minutes after the break he had the ball in the back of the net, beating Hiotis with a first-time swipe only to see a raised flag dash his hopes of a goal on his European debut.
"That Ronaldo chance would have put us 3-0 up," said Real coach Vicente del Bosque. "It was a key moment in the game."
Ronaldo still looks some way short of full fitness and he tired as the second half wore on.
Real saw their 2-0 lead halved when Costas Katsouranis was given a free header from a corner on 74 minutes and the crowd were looking for something special to settle their nerves.
Ronaldo could not provide it, though, as he was limited to a couple of half-hit shots from the edge of the area.
His night ended on a disappointing note when he lost possession and, to whistles from the crowd, AEK promptly went up the other end of the field to equalise.