Mats Hummels knows exactly what to expect from Cristiano Ronaldo when Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich host Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday, but says there are "patterns" in the prolific Portugal front man's game to exploit.
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Ronaldo has scored 22 goals in his last 12 matches, and grabbed a second-leg hat-trick as Real knocked out Bayern at the quarter-final stage of last season's competition.
"I watch a lot of the big teams in action, I'm interested in football in general, so there are things you notice," the Bayern defender told SPORT BILD.
"I think there are a couple of patterns with Ronaldo, there are certain anomalies. I'll try to make use of what I know, but I’m keeping it to myself."
Watch: Mats Hummels answers your pressing questions - against the clock
Hummels was part of the Germany team that beat Ronaldo's Portugal in the group stage of the UEFA 2012 EUROs and FIFA 2014 World Cup. He has also faced the Ballon d'Or holder seven times in the Champions League for former club Borussia Dortmund and Bayern (W3, D1, L3).
"Ronaldo has changed his playing style in recent years," Hummels continued. "He's not as dominant as he once was; now he's all about finishing moves off and scoring goals. In that sense, he's the best goalscorer in the world because he can score all kinds of goals, at any point in a game.
"Real are a real threat from the flanks, and from set-pieces with central midfielders like Toni Kroos. You have to defend the balls into the box. That makes it difficult to defend against Ronaldo. He doesn't need eight touches before shooting. He does it with the first or, at the most, the second."
Halbfinale!!! Three more games to win