How has Ronaldo performed in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League?

Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time highest goal-scorer in the history of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) with 140 strikes to his name in 181 appearances. He has also scored against the most number of clubs in the competition, 37. He is the only player to score three hat-tricks in a single season.

The Portuguese international has dished out numerous exemplary performances in the Champions LEagueand especially in the knockout stages of the tournament as he is the only player to score two consecutive hat-tricks at this stage of the competition. In the return leg of the quarter-finals against FC Bayern Munich in 2017, he netted three goals which fired Real Madrid to the semi-finals. In the last four, he went up against Atletico Madrid and once again scored a hat-trick in the first leg to tilt the tie in favour of Los Blancos.

Ronaldo will once again feature in the UCL on February 24, when Manchester United travel to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid. Ronaldo boasts an impressive record against Diego Simeone's side, scoring 25 times in 35 matches, including a goal in the Champions League final.

Let us now take a detailed look at his performance in the knockout stages of the Champions League:

ParameterStatisticsAppearances83Minutes Played7365Goals67Assists15Goals per game0.81Minutes/goal contribution89.8Penalties7/8Free-Kick goals4Outside the box4Inside the box52Left Foot9Right Foot41Header17Man of the match17