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Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick on Tuesday to fire Juventus to a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Allianz Stadium and reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Bianconeri entered the game needing to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg of the last-16 clash.
Giorgio Chiellini had the ball in the back of the net inside four minutes when he pounced on a loose ball, but the goal was ruled out after Ronaldo was harshly adjudged to have fouled Jan Oblak in the build-up.
The hosts continued to dominate the proceedings and scored again in the 27th minute when Ronaldo rose to head home Federico Bernardeschi’s cross.
Ronaldo pulled Juve level with another header three minutes after the break, with goal-line technology showing the ball crossed the line before Oblak clawed it out.
The Portugal international sealed his hat-trick from the spot with four minutes of normal time remaining after Angel Correa was penalised for a push on Bernardeschi.
Ronaldo Makes Juve Champions League Favourites
When Juve splashed out €112 million to sign Ronaldo from Real Madrid last summer, it was clear they were determined to win the Champions League after final defeats in 2015 and 2017.
On Tuesday, his decisive performance showed exactly why they bought him.
The 34-year-old demonstrated he remains a force to be reckoned with on the biggest stage as he beat Diego Godin in the air to score his first:
Football on BT Sport @btsportfootball
Cristiano Ronaldo storms in at the back post and Juve are right back in this!
All to play for now…
That’s 1⃣2⃣2⃣ Champions League goals for CR7
https://t.co/WbsYxkJzAn
Bleacher Report Live @brlive
Guess who
Juventus leads 1-0, down just 1 on aggregate now.
Watch now on #BRLive: https://t.co/IzM3Q8EE6Y https://t.co/XcVsyZjXzb
He did so again for his second:
Football on BT Sport @btsportfootball
RONALDO DOES IT AGAIN!
Oblak was so close to a stunning save, but Juve are level and it’s all thanks to their magnificent number 7⃣ https://t.co/BPuKpz86TS
Bleacher Report Live @brlive
Cristiano Ronaldo AGAIN
His header barely sneaks over the line and Juve is even on aggregate 2-2 with Atletico
Watch now on #BRLive: https://t.co/IzM3Q8EE6Y https://t.co/uoKlnon2XI
And he was as cool as ever under pressure for his third:
Football on BT Sport @btsportfootball
Cometh the hour, cometh the man…
Cristiano Ronaldo buries the penalty to complete his hat-trick and the Juventus turnaround
He was never missing! https://t.co/xDPhcQXsxq
Bleacher Report Live @brlive
CRISTIANO. RONALDO. HAT TRICK.
Juve leads 3-2 on aggregate. WOW
Watch the finish on #BRLive: https://t.co/IzM3Q8EE6Y https://t.co/B436grhLrX
Ronaldo has now scored 63 goals in the knockout phase of the Champions League, 124 overall, and bagged eight hat-tricks.
Bet365 put his achievements into further context:
bet365 @bet365
Cristiano Ronaldo has the most Champions League:
Goals
Home goals
Away goals
Group stage goals
Knock out stage goals
Final goals
Goals from free-kicks
Goals from penalties
Headers
Braces
Hat-tricks
Assists
Some were left in awe of the superstar, while others have come to expect such brilliance from him in this competition:
Andy West @andywest01
Cristiano Ronaldo, what a phenomenal footballer. Furiously focused, really just a force of nature. Triumph of the will…a superman indeed.
Tom McDermott @MrTomMcDermott
Incredible from Ronaldo. I mentioned earlier that #Juventus would need more than deliveries into the box if they wanted to reduce the deficit, but the Portuguese is the ultimate big game player with an incredible desire to win that ball. Brilliant.
With both Madrid teams out of the competition, two of Juve’s biggest obstacles to the trophy are gone.
The likes of Barcelona and Manchester City could still pose plenty of problems, but with Ronaldo on their side, it’s difficult to see anyone stopping the Bianconeri this season.
What’s Next?
The Bianconeri will advance to the quarter-finals, which will be played on April 9-10 and 16-17 following the draw on March 15. Domestically, Atletico will play Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, while Juve take on Genoa the following day.
from Top Viral News Blog https://ift.tt/2EXJqLE
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