The Portuguese is back to face his former club in the tournament he loves the most — but Real relies on him far less these days.

Ronaldo returns in his favorite competition - but Madrid can now function without him

The Portuguese is back to face his former club in the tournament he loves the most — but Real relies on him far less these days.

It is a game he will not have wanted to miss. Cristiano Ronaldo returns against his old club Sporting CP and in his favorite competition: the Champions League. But as he starts his eighth season at Real Madrid, the team is set up to function without him these days. Coach Zinedine Zidane is a big admirer. The Frenchman worked hard to get Ronaldo back on board after replacing Rafa Benitez in January. And it paid dividends: As the team improved, so too did Cristiano — and there was a happy ending in May as Madrid claimed the Champions League.
The Portuguese played his part. He scored 16 goals throughout the competition and his hat trick against Wolfsburg turned over a 2-0 deficit from the first leg in the quarterfinals. Not for the first time in recent years, he had got his team out of jail.
But as Zidane builds for the future, he is keen for Madrid to function with or without Ronaldo. While the 31-year-old is there and still scoring, everyone is content at the Santiago Bernabeu. But there is no longer a feeling that the club depends upon him as it once did.
In the semifinals of the Champions League last season, it was Gareth Bale who forced the winner versus Manchester City — an own goal by Fernando — and
in the showpiece against Atletico at San Siro, it was the Welshman driving the team forward, and his flick-on that found Sergio Ramos for Madrid's goal.
Later, Ronaldo missed a great chance moments before Yannick Carrasco made it 1-1 and he did very little at all until he hit home the winning penalty to take the glory and the headlines in the shootout.
"I asked Zidane if I could take the fifth penalty," he said afterward. "Because I knew it would be the winner."
Good for him. He had his moment, he clearly enjoyed it and after everything he has done for Madrid in recent seasons, he deserved it. Now a two-time Champions League winner with Real, he has won nine trophies in total for the Spanish side and there is the promise of more this time around.