It was another exciting week for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two superstars faced off in the hotly-anticipated Clasico last weekend and Ronaldo's performance in that game, coupled with his big goal against Liverpool, gave him a commanding 5-2 lead on the season against his greatest rival.

Could Ronaldo continue his dominant display? Or would Messi bounce back from a tough weekend and show the world that he was still capable of regaining his status as the world's best player?

Ronaldo sat out during Real Madrid's Copa del Rey match-up to get some much-needed rest. But he was in the starting lineup against Granada and had a huge impact from the get-go. Just 90 seconds in, he got a terrific feed from Karim Benzema and one-timed the shot into the far corner to give Madrid a 1-0 lead. It was the game-winning goal.

But Ronaldo was not finished. Those claiming that Messi is the better player continually point to his ability to not only score but also create goals. That banter seemed to be getting into Ronaldo's head, and over the last few weeks, he has incessantly tried to set up his teammates as much as he has tried to finish the goals.

To put it into context, Ronaldo is averaging 2.8 key passes in the Spanish League this season; his career average is 1.9. Messi is averaging 3.3 this season -- on a team that relies more heavily on passing -- and his career average is 2.4.

In Granada, Ronaldo had five key passes, including two assists. The first assist had the mark of a brilliant playmaker that can feel his teammates' movements. He picked up a pass from James Rodriguez right outside the penalty area. With his back to the goal, he backheeled the ball through a defender's legs right to Karim Benzema, who finished the move to give the team a 3-0 lead.

But Ronaldo was not finished yet. He ran onto a ball and tried to finish, but the ball was too far away. He did get part of his foot on it, deflecting the ball to James Rodriguez who would finish the play.

It was the first time all year that Ronaldo had two assists in a game. It was his third in the Spanish League to add to his 17 goals in just nine appearances. He is currently on pace to score 68 goals by the time all is said and done. If he only scores at an average of one goal per game in the remaining 27 games, he would still finish the year with 44 in the Spanish League.

So how would Messi respond? Disastrously? In arguably his worst performance of the season (outside of the Clasico), Messi did not score. He did not create any goals. And he was largely invisible at the Camp Nou against an inferior team.

Messi has averaged a passing completion rate of approximately 83.9 percent this season in Spain. Against Celta Vigo, he only completed 70 percent of his passes. Barcelona as a team completed 82 percent of its passes, which highlights just how poorly Messi was for his side. In fact, Messi had the worst passing success rate of all his teammates (even Luis Suarez had a better rate) and he was the player with the sixth most touches on the team. Usually Messi is near the top in terms of touches, but on this night, he was not among the most prominent players for Barcelona.

He did lead the team in shots on target, but he ultimately failed to deliver. And Barcelona's 1-0 lead pushed the side into third place in the standings.

Winner

This one is not that difficult to surmise. Barcelona lost, Real Madrid won. Messi was largely invisible, Ronaldo had a goal and two assists.

Now Ronaldo has a 6-2 stranglehold on the competition. And he does not look like he is ready to give it up anytime soon

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