Maybe it was all too easy. Perhaps when he saw the teamsheet, he thought it would be a formality that the record he has been closing in on would be sent tumbling. This should have been the night Cristiano Ronaldo moved out on his own. A capacity crowd in the Bernabeu Stadium, the eyes of the world watching and a date against one of the biggest names in football. The stage could not have been more perfect for Ronaldo to usurp Raul, as the Champions League's all-time scorer. The coronation, however, must wait. Worse still, if Lionel Messi engages overdrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday, when Barcelona duel with Ajax, Ronaldo could find himself in third place on the list when Real return to Champions League combat at the end of the month in Switzerland.
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Cristiano Ronaldo had chance to become the Champions League's all-time top scorer against Liverpool
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However, Real Madrid star failed to find the target during 1-0 victory
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Former Manchester United forward trails Raul by a single goal
An early goal would have invigorated him and inflicted a blow into @placeholder's midriff from which they would have struggled to recover.