Cristiano Ronaldo violent conduct. Real Madrid also failed to defend their La Liga title, finishing runners up to Barcelona. In the first knockout round of the Champions League, Ronaldo faced his former club Manchester United for the first time. After scoring the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu, he scored the match-winning goal in a 2–1 victory at Old Trafford, his first return to his former home ground. He did not celebrate scoring against his former club as a mark of respect. Ronaldo scored three goals in Madrid's 5–3 aggregate victory over Galatasaray to see them advance to the
Messi–Ronaldo rivalry in a game together when Manchester United were drawn to play Barcelona in the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League semi-finals and were immediately pitted as major rivals. Ronaldo missed a penalty in the first leg, but United eventually advanced to the final via a Paul Scholes goal. At the end of the year, Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or and vowed that he would win the award again. The 2009 UEFA Champions League Final was contested between Manchester United and Barcelona on 27 May 2009 at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. The match, described as a "dream clash", was again hyped