"Shouted at him from the sideline to stop him, it was impossible" - Ex-Bayern star recalls coming up against Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time

Former Bayern Munich and Levante right-back Christian Lell recently opened up about facing Cristiano Ronaldo for the first and only time on the pitch. In a candid and somewhat humorous recollection, Lell painted a vivid picture of what it was like to contain one of football’s greatest players, saying the scale of the challenge was beyond tactical instruction or sideline shouting.

Speaking about his only meeting with Cristiano Ronaldo, Christian Lell said in an interview with German publication Sport1 (via Mundo Deportivo):

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"I remember a game against Madrid in which, following the style Hermann Gerland taught me, I shouted at Cristiano from the touchline to try to stop him, but it was impossible. Despite that, Real Madrid won the game."

For context, the match Lell was referring to was a LaLiga match between Real Madrid and Levante in the 2012-13 season. The match ended in Los Blancos’ favor as they cruised to a 5-1 victory. Cristiano Ronaldo proved hard to stop for Levante defenders as he made two goal contributions in the match (1 goal, 1 assist).

Meanwhile, Lell committed a handball in the 18-yard area in the match, which led to Real Madrid being awarded a penalty, and Kaka clinically dispatched the resulting spot kick.

Christian Lell says Lionel Messi made him "more dizzy" than Cristiano Ronaldo

While Christian Lell admitted to finding it difficult to mark Cristiano Ronaldo, he said he found it more difficult to mark Lionel Messi. When Lell was asked if he had Ronaldo under control, he said:

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"Well, as good as you can get with a man like that under control. In the end, we lost. From a sporting perspective, there was room for improvement. But I wouldn't say he made me dizzy. I was more dizzy with Messi in the Champions League match with FCB in Barcelona (laughs)."

Lell and Messi played each other three times. Twice, they squared off in the quarterfinal match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the 2008-09 Champions League. The third meeting was a LaLiga match between Levante and Barcelona in the 2012-13 campaign.

Christian Lell closed the curtain on his professional career in 2016.

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