Two yellow cards and a missed penalty weighed down heavily on Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo’s FTBL score despite Real Madrid’s 4:1 home win over UD Almería yesterday in La Liga; he could earn only a miserable 0.16 rating points in our system and remains in 6th place in the FTBL ranking of forwards in the Spanish top league.

Ronaldo first missed a disputed penalty in the 82nd minute, but, fortunately for the Merengues, French international Karim Benzema was there for the rebound. The Portugal international scored a few minutes later to make the final score 4:2 for Real.

But Ronaldo’s performance was marred by a second booking that automatically turned into red. This had a negative effect on his FTBL score in the game. He will face a daunting plank of 29.26 rating points to beat in the coming Champions League game against French side Olympique Lyon. The plank derives from Real’s 3:0 win over the French on November 30. To beat the plank, Ronaldo will have to score at least a goal.

Further down the road, the Portuguese will face lower planks to beat (less than 10 rating points). His rise back to the top of the ranking could be dramatic.