Cristiano Ronaldo had one of the best nights of his career last night, as the Portuguese superstar fired home a hat-trick to send Juventus through to the quarter finals of the Champions League.
Having lost the first leg 2-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano, it seemed like Juve would need something of a miracle if they were to come back against Atletico and advance into the next round of the competition.
And that miracle was delivered to them by Ronaldo (who else?), as he fired home a fine hat-trick to complete a remarkable turnaround for the Italian giants.
Ronaldo scored two fine headers in the first and second half, with a last-minute penalty ending up being the goal that sent the Old Lady through and dumped Los Rojiblancos out.
Following the match, Ronaldo seemed to still be usual confident self, as he reportedly said “that’s why they signed me” after being informed that this comeback was Juve’s first of its kind in the Champions League (according to journalist Gabriele Marcotti).
Ronaldo on Sky Italia is told that Juve never managed a comeback this great in the CL…
“Maybe that’s why they signed me” is his reply— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) March 12, 2019
This wasn’t the first time in his career that Ronaldo has done something like this, as the forward also helped Real Madrid beat Wolfsburg 3-2 on aggregate back in 2016, firing home a second leg hat-trick to overturn Los Blancos’ 2-0 first leg deficit.
Given their dramatic turnaround last night, Juve will surely be many people’s favourites to win the competition ahead of Friday’s quarter final draw.
And should he perform like he did last night for the rest of this competition, we can easily see Ronaldo leading the Old Lady to their first Champions League title since 1996 come the end of the season…
