Ronaldo’s hattrick takes Juventus through to the last 8

Editorial Team 6 years ago

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Atletico Madrid came to Turin with a 2-0 advantage and Diego Simeone’s men are the best at shutting the shop with an organized defense. With all odds stacked agaist them, Cristiano Ronaldo came to the rescue of the Old Lady.

The physicality of the Atletico players wasn’t enough to stop the former Real Madrid attacker who simply outjumped the Atletico defenders in both halves to score via headers and brought the tie back to life. The 34 year old Portugal captain then converted a late penalty in the 86th minute to complete a fabulous comeback and sent the fans at the Allianz stadium into a frenzy.

Juanfran who started the game in place of Filipe Luis struggled to handle Ronaldo. The Portuguese hitman got the better of Juanfran in the air to score the Old Lady’s first. Ronaldo was brilliant in the air throughout the game and on the other end of the pitch, Atletico’s best chance came to Morata whose header flew a few inches above the crossbar. Cancelo picked Ronaldo in the centre for Juve’s second goal and Jan Oblak clawed it back only after the ball had crossed the line.

Blaise Matuidi and Emre Can covered the pitch with high energy but were rock-solid in handling Atletico’s attack on the break. At times, Can moved back to play as a right sided centre back to mark Alvaro Morato and ensured Atletico Madrid didn’t register a shot on target. Federico Bernedeschi who was a nightmare for the Atletico back four ignited the comeback with an assist for Ronaldo’s first and also won the winning penalty.

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This is the eighth hattrick of Ronaldo’s Champions League outings, which takes him on level with Barcelona ace Lionel Messi. The win fires Allegri’s men into the quarter final stage of the competition with an aggregate score of 3-2. The result should take some pressure off Allegri who has come under serious scruntiy for his defensive tactics despite their domestic dominance.

With the final taking place at the Wanda Metropolitano, there will be no side from Madrid taking part in the final. Notably, Barcelona are the only Spanish club left in thr tournament.

The five time Balon d’Or winner celebrated mimicking Diego Simeone’s celebration at the Wanda Metropolitano. UEFA fined the Ateletico manager € 20,000 for thr gesture and it remains to be seen if Ronaldo is to be punished similarly.

Editorial Team

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LosMejor's Editorial Team includes a team of experts who cover the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. The Editorial team is headed by Deepak Selvan.