Phil McNulty's top 10 individual performances

Every football fan re the great individual displays they have witnessed in the flesh - the memories remain etched forever.

It is the same for those of us who report on the game - so here are 10 of the most memorable individual performances I have witnessed while working for BBC Sport.

As with my previous 10 classic matches, the rules are that I must have been there in person and reported on the game. So if you want to know why your own favourite is not there, the simple answer may just be I was not present.

BBC Sport will be asking you to name your favourite individual performances in a live text on Thursday. You will be able to get involved via #bbcfootball.

England arrived underneath the sprawling spider's web roof of Munich's Olympiastadion as underdogs for this World Cup qualifier.

And it looked as if the tipsters had it right when Carsten Jancker put ahead after only six minutes - but Michael Owen led what became a famous response from Sven-Goran Eriksson's team.

Owen, already a world-class striker after his early deeds with Liverpool and England, equalised quickly with a right-foot finish from Nick Barmby's knockdown. Steven Gerrard put England ahead just before half-time then Owen increased the lead after the interval, taking an Emile Heskey header in his stride to beat Oliver Kahn with a shot the great German goalkeeper should have saved.

He completed his hat-trick with another right-foot finish to make it 4-1 after 65 minutes, taking Steven Gerrard's to drill a shot high past Kahn before a celebratory somersault.

Owen's reputation took on an added layer of greatness - and reached its peak when he won the Ballon d'Or three months later, only the sixth British played to be awarded the accolade.

The performance that won the sport's greatest prize must be placed in context to understand its true significance.

Brazil's fifth World Cup final win was not simply about Ronaldo's two second-half goals amid Yokohama's space-age architecture - it was a story of redemption.

Ronaldo was one of the great players of his generation but the striker's career had been blighted by serious injury and the mystery surrounding his absence from the final at 98.

He was off, then on the teamsheet for that final, which ended in a 3-0 victory for , with talk of a seizure then injury as conspiracy theories ran rampant in Paris.

Ronaldo played but was a shadow of his brilliant self, meaning this final in Yokohama represented so much to one of Brazil's football icons.

He responded by scoring twice in 12 minutes, first pouncing on keeper Kahn's error after 67 minutes, then placing a precise right-foot finish for his second.

Amid chaotic scenes, Ronaldo said: "The nightmare is over. I will not detain everyone talking about my suffering over these last years. God reserved this for me and the Brazil team."

The great moments are invariably reserved for goalscorers, goalkeepers and individual pieces of brilliance.

I have absolutely no hesitation, however, in including Ashley Cole's performance at left-back for England in their Euro 2004 quarter-final against hosts Portugal in Lisbon as one of the great individual performances I have reported on.

Cole was up against the young Cristiano Ronaldo in what became a magnificent duel in the searing heat and humidity of Lisbon's famous Stadium of Light.

This was not the fully formed Ronaldo of later years, but he never stopped running at Cole. The defender never stopped thwarting him. Cole was also superb in every other aspect and area of the game.

It was, quite simply, a performance of world class. As good as it gets in that position.

England, almost inevitably, lost on penalties, but such was the quality of Cole's display his full-back partner Gary Neville singled him out for sympathy after the game as one player who did not deserve to taste defeat. He really was that good.

Andrey Arshavin was a mercurial figure, capable of brilliance and anonymity in equal measure - but he was never more productive and efficient than he was on this night at Anfield.

Arsenal's gifted Russian was the sole reason the Gunners got a point from a one-sided game that dealt a severe blow to Liverpool's title chances.

Let's examine the statistics.

Arshavin had four shots and scored four goals. Arsenal only had eight in total.

Liverpool had 26 shots in total, with 14 on target. The only Liverpool player not to have an attempt on goal was keeper Pepe Reina.

In of end product, it does not get much better than what Arshavin delivered.

He put Arsenal ahead with a close-range finish in front of the Kop, then struck twice after Liverpool went ahead, firing an angled finish past Reina from 20 yards, then pouncing on a defensive error.

Liverpool equalised only for Arshavin to race clear for another stunning finish.

Yossi Benayoun rescued a point for Liverpool - but this was Arshavin's night.

Cristiano Ronaldo was perhaps the biggest jewel in Manchester United's crown around this time and on a glorious May night at Emirates Stadium he was peerless.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was buoyant after restricting United to a 1-0 first-leg advantage in the Champions League semi-final and the home fans were optimistic inside Emirates Stadium before the kick-off in glorious evening sunshine.

Ronaldo changed all that inside 11 minutes, crossing for Park Ji-sung to score before unleashing a quite astonishing 40-yard free-kick with his right foot from a wide position, struck with such power from an unusual stance that Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia was totally deceived by its pace, only moving when it was too late.

All this was topped by one of the great counter-attacking Champions League goals, just after the hour, to send United to the final.

Ronaldo met Nemanja Vidic's clearance deep inside his own half with a piece of genius, a flick to Park, who then released Wayne Rooney. The Portuguese then set off at lightning speed, leaving Johan Djourou trailing, and was in the perfect position to steer a right-foot finish high past Almunia.

From start to finish, the move took around 10 seconds. It was the goal Ronaldo's performance deserved.

Lionel Messi was edging towards greatness after inheriting Barcelona's number 10 jersey from Ronaldinho. The talent that persuades many to argue he is the greatest ever to play the game was unveiled in all its glory near the banks of the Tiber.

Manchester United were trying to retain the Champions League, while Pep Guardiola was attempting to complete an historic treble, having already won La Liga and the Spanish cup in his first season in charge.

United, in what would prove to be Cristiano Ronaldo's final game before an £80m move to Real Madrid, threatened to overwhelm Barcelona in a lightning start but Samuel Eto'o's ninth-minute goal set the scene for a Messi masterclass.

Messi tortured United with his sublime skill, movement and threat, crowning a virtuoso performance by soaring behind Rio Ferdinand to head Xavi's delivery back across Edwin van der Sar in the 70th minute.

A true great doing what true greats do - controlling the biggest games. It was a privilege to witness.

"Taxi For Maicon."

The words that recall a display from Gareth Bale that confirmed his ascent to superstardom.

Bale scored a hat-trick in a losing cause when Spurs were beaten 4-3 by holders Inter Milan in the Champions League group stage - but he was not to be denied when the Italians came to north London the following month for the return.

The Wales star delivered one of the great performances as he destroyed Inter, and in particular the hapless Maicon, reducing the Brazil defender to a shambolic figure.

Inter coach Rafael Benitez tried employing reinforcements to stop Bale - but they all went the same way as Maicon.

White Hart Lane's old press box offered a close up view of events. It was the perfect vantage point to see Bale flying down the wing like a tornado.

He was accompanied by deafening roars every time he received the ball, making goals for Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko.

At the final whistle Portuguese legend Luis Figo, on Inter's staff, went across to Harry Redknapp and mouthed: "Bale is just amazing. Amazing. He has killed us twice."

And Figo knows a stellar performance when he sees one.

David Silva's magic was sprinkled all over Manchester United's worst home defeat since 1955, as they conceded six at Old Trafford for the first time since 1930. It was inflicted by a Manchester City side Sir Alex Ferguson had airily dismissed as the "noisy neighbours".

It was a day that City's fans had waited for through years of suffering United supremacy. The Spanish maestro pulled the strings, and it was a pivotal result as Roberto Mancini's side beat United to the title on goal difference.

There were some stellar City performances, especially from James Milner, but Silva eclipsed them all.

The Spaniard played in Milner to set up Mario Balotelli's first and his 'Why Always Me">