Cristiano Ronaldo gave the world a stark reminder of exactly what he is capable of with his hat-trick against Tottenham.
It was a vintage, 'take-the-game-by-the-scruff' performance from the Portuguese superstar as he gave Manchester United fresh hope in the race for the Premier League top four.
An out of the box rocket, a cool finish from close range and, of course, a towering header completed the superb trio of strikes to wrestle the crucial three points away from Spurs.
With United still second favourites to Arsenal for that final place in the promised land of the Champions League, the return to form of their talisman couldn't be better timed.
It was, however, a very different weekend for Ronaldo's eternal rival, Lionel Messi, on the other side of the Channel.
After whimpering to yet another crushing European defeat, PSG's superstar players, Messi and Neymar, found themselves getting booed and heckled by their own fans inside the Parc de Princes.
Lionel Messi and Neymar were boo'd by their own fans during the Ligue 1 clash with Bordeaux
It was an alarming turn of events, especially for Messi who has always been the darling of his fans' eyes.
PSG would ultimately go on to beat Bourdeaux 3-0 but an interesting video started doing the rounds on social media in the aftermath.
It shows one of the rare occasions in which Ronaldo was treated poorly by fans and how he offered a rather emphatic response.
The clip shows Ronaldo struggling to make anything stick during a clash with Celta Vigo in early 2016 before he managed to click through the gears and really turn it on.
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After some negative feedback from the home fans, Ronaldo only went and smashed four goals to inspire Real Madrid to a thunderous 7-1 drubbing of Celta.
The manner of his four strikes really was something to behold as well with a rasping long-range missile, a pinpoint free-kick, a tap in at the back post and finally one of those trademark headers completing the set.
You can see footage of the incredible turnaround in the video below:
Now, of course, there aren't many conclusions that can actually be drawn by comparing two games from two very different points in time but it is fascinating to see how Ronaldo and Messi have taken to this new season of their careers.
For the most part, Ronaldo has gone above and beyond the call of duty while Messi has looked a shadow of his Barcelona self.
There is still time to turn things around but, after what is already proving to be a frightfully underwhelming season, the question remains as to whether he would want to resurrect his Parisian adventure at all.