Pepe Reina picks Lionel Messi over Cristiano Ronaldo
Liverpool’s Spanish goalkeeper Pepe Reina ranks Barcelona’s Lionel Messi ahead of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Spaniard labeled the Argentinean “a more complete player”, and revealed that he would rather face Ronaldo than an in-form Messi.
Talking about the hugely anticipated ‘El Clasico’, Reina compared the two teams and their respective star players. He said, “Barcelona are just about favourites because they are playing at home and I feel that it will be a game with a lot of goals. For me,
with the Blaugrana playing in front of 100,000 fans, they are marginal favourites, but it is a game that is very difficult to predict indeed.”
Both attackers have won the FIFA World Player of the Year accolade in their glittering careers, and have been almost unstoppable this season.
The Catalan giants crushed bottom side Almeria 8-0 on Saturday, while later that night Madrid humbled Athletic Bilbao 5-1 in the Spanish league this weekend. Both Messi and Ronaldo bagged a hat-trick each while playing for their respective clubs.
However Real Madrid's hat-trick hero against Bilbao, Cristiano Ronaldo, has stated that his primary aim is to guide his side to the league title rather than winning the Spanish league’s top-scorer’s award.
Ronaldo has netted 14 goals in 12 matches, one more than his rival Lionel Messi. The Portuguese winger remained unfazed by Barcelona’s resounding win at the weekend, and said that the result of Monday’s clash will be what matters most.
Ronaldo said, "Our two first half goals were important, but we only got better in the second. We have a great team and we are very happy. I am also happy that I scored, but all that matters is that we won. The 8-0 at Almeria doesn't tell me anything; let's
see if they score eight goals against us on Monday."
Madrid are currently unbeaten in the Spanish League and sit on top of the standings with 32 points, 1 ahead of arch rivals Barcelona. Interestingly enough, both clubs have scored an equal number of league goals (33) this season.
Monday’s result will be a massive factor in deciding this season’s eventual champions, when the two teams face each other at Camp Nou. Both coaches, Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola will be looking to draw first blood, before the return fixture in Madrid
early next year. These are six points that will go a long way in determining who will be crowned the best team in Spain.
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