UEFA Champions League: Ronaldo Trumps Messi In GOAT Contest As Juventus Blank Barcelona 3-0

Playing against Messi for the first time since joining Italian giants Juventus, Ronaldo scored a brace in his team's dominant win over the Spanish powerhouse in the UEFA Champions League Group G encounter as he found the back of the net twice in the 13th and 52nd minute

Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Barcelona in UEFA Champions League (UEFA Champions League Twitter Handle)

Portugal's talismanic striker Cristiano Ronaldo won the bragging rights over his fierce Argentine rival Lionel Messi as Juventus trounced Barcelona FC 3-0 in a Group G encounter of the UEFA Champions League played at Nou Camp in Barcelona on Tuesday . Juventus' 3-0 drubbing of Barcelona moved them to pole position in Group G and dethrone the Catalan Giants (superior goal difference) in the showpiece club competition in Europe. Playing against Messi for the first time since joining Italian giants Juventus, Ronaldo scored a brace in his team's dominant win over the Spanish powerhouse as he found the back of the net twice, opening the scoring in the 13th minute and adding the third goal via a penalty kick in the 52nd minute.

⚽️ 13' Ronaldo ⚽️ 20' McKennie ⚽️ 52' Ronaldo

ℹ️ Barcelona 0-3 Juventus #UCL pic.twitter.com/JUQMou25st — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 8, 2020

In the latest chapter of the much famed Ronaldo-Messi rivalry, 'CR7' hogged the limelight as he displayed his all-round skills as a footballer, not only spearheading attack but also making defensive tackles to subvert Barca's counter attacks. With double strikes against Barcelona, Ronaldo extended his record-goal tally to a whopping 134 goals in Champions League. He is just four goals short of all-time leader Messi's tally of 138 goals in the marquee club competition. Barcelona made desperate attempts to stage a comeback into the match with Messi hitting two shots straight to Juventus keeper Gianluigi Buffon. Seven of Messi's 11 shots were on target but he couldn't find a way past the Juventus keeper.

65’ | ????????‍♂️ | @GIANLUIGIBUFFON AGAIN SAVES FROM MESSI! ????#BarçaJuve [0-3] #JuveUCL pic.twitter.com/iuAue3dLzo

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) December 8, 2020

The loss to Juventus did not hurt Barcelona much as the Spanish team have secured a place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League, finishing the group stages tied with Juventus on 15 points each.