By Mike Parrott
Manchester United faced Benfica 13 years ago in the Champions League Group Stage and a 22-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo exploded onto the scene with 20 completed dribbles in the game.
Back before Cristiano Ronaldo was a walking goal-machine, from 2003 to 2007 Ronaldo was a magical winger for Manchester United.
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He dazzled consistently as a natural winger on the right. Rather than cutting in, Ronaldo would hug the touchline and beat players for fun before crossing it in and normally nabbing an assist.
In the 2006/07 Season, Ronaldo was able to score 23 goals, but was able to bag 21 assists too, astronomical numbers for a Winger.
Against Benfica on September 26, Ronaldo put in a dribbling masterclass, bagging an assist.
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The Portuguese Winger was able to complete 20 dribbles in the game against Benfica, consistently beating the Benfica players with his old step-overs.
Ronaldo came second in Ballon D'Or that year, only coming behind Kaka after leading United to the Champions League Semi-Finals, as well as winning the Premier League for the first time since 2003.
The Winger would ultimately go on to win five Ballon D'Ors throughout his career, including one at Manchester United the year later after leading them to a Champions League win for the first time since the Treble-winning season of 1999.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Manchester United, Champions League, Benfica, Cristiano Ronaldo
