Yin & Yang: A statistical breakdown of Messi & Ronaldo’s first World Cup games

2. Game involvement

Messi not only exerted a greater influence on the game, but was significantly more involved in it. He recorded 57 touches, with neither Lautaro Martínez nor Thiago Almada — his partners in attack — surpassing that figure. Ronaldo had 25 touches against Congo — his fewest in a major tournament game for Portugal when he played the full 90 minutes.

Lionel Messi’s heatmap from first match against Algeria.

The 41-year-old attempted 20 passes — second-lowest among Portugal’s starters, behind only Bernardo Silva, who was taken off at half-time. The corresponding figure for Messi was 40.
Nor was the disparity confined to distribution. Messi excelled at the receiving end too. He received 44 passes — much more than Ronaldo’s tally of 17.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s heatmap from match against DR Congo.

Delve deeper into receive success percentage — a measure of whether a player positions himself optimally to receive a pass directed towards him — and the divide becomes starker still. Messi posted a success rate of 50 per cent. Ronaldo’s corresponding statistic stood at 21.3.

ALSO READ | Cristiano Ronaldo at 41: The ball has fallen out of love with him

3. Creativity

Ronaldo was well behind in this metric as well. If one goes by line breaks — a pass that penetrates the opposition’s defensive structure, essentially an antidote to low blocks like that of Algeria and Congo – Messi attempted 15 of them. In the Argentine team, only Enzo Fernández attempted more, at 16.

For Portugal, Ronaldo attempted a line breaking pass only once. Even Refeal Leao had three attempts, despite coming on in the 71st minute.

Messi also recorded a carrying distance of 252.3 metres, of which 125.9 metres constituted progressive carrying — advancing possession towards goal by bypassing opponents. Ronaldo’s corresponding figures were 49.4 metres and 27.3 metres.

4. Mobility

This is a metric where Ronaldo is ahead — he ran 8.39 km in the game, while Messi covered 6.81 km. Yet the Argentine’s heat map was considerably more expansive.

Ronaldo ran only 1.19 km of his 8.39 (13.4%) in high intensity against DR Congo. (AP Photo)

There is a simple explanation. Messi remained dormant for long spells, conserving himself for a decisive intervention. On the contrary, Ronaldo kept jogging for the entirety of the game, which did not yield any fruitful results for his team.

For a statistical inference, Ronaldo ran only 1.19 km of his 8.39 (13.4%) in high intensity; that is, at a minimum pace of 15kmph. Messi ran 1.79 km of his 6.81 (27%) in high intensity.

5. Positioning

For Argentina’s opening goal, Messi occupied the only vacant pocket amid four Algerian shirts. One simple pass from Rodrigo De Paul pierced the defensive line.

Analysing Ronaldo’s spatial awareness — or the lack thereof — makes it difficult not to revisit Thierry Henry’s observation: there needs to be an understanding of who needs to score: Portugal or Ronaldo.

In one passage of play, Francisco Conceicao dribbles past his marker and finds vacant land down the right flank. With two men consistently marking him, Ronaldo had initially made a run towards goal, which led to Bruno Fernandes being unmarked. The midfielder would have found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper had Ronaldo reversed the direction of his run.

If one judged Ronaldo solely on the basis of his display against Congo, he would not be considered one of the greatest players the game has ever produced.