TURIN • Juventus have never before overturned a two-goal deficit at home in European competition, but then they never had Cristiano Ronaldo leading their attack.
If the aim of buying the five-time World Player of the Year for €100 million (S$153 million) was to make a difference on the biggest Champions League nights, it certainly paid off on Tuesday.
The 34-year-old got his eighth Champions League hat-trick - the joint-highest in the competition with Lionel Messi - as Juventus overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Atletico Madrid with a 3-0 victory to reach the quarter-finals.
Afterwards, Ronaldo declared "that was why Juventus brought me here, to help on magical nights like this".
He said: "In the history of Juve, there was never a comeback like this. I do my job and I'm very happy.
"Atletico are a really tough team to face, but we are strong too and proved we deserved to go through.
"It was meant to be a special night and it was, not just for my goals but also for the attitude we showed. That is the sort of mentality you need to win the Champions League."
77
Champions League knockout-phase goals in 77 games1st
Player to reach 124 Champions League goals8
Joint-most Champions League hat-tricks, with Lionel Messi
While Ronaldo had carried on where he left off, plundering 19 goals in Serie A, his domestic form as the second-highest scorer in the Italian league had not translated to the European stage, with only one strike this term before the Allianz Stadium meeting.
Atletico, who had not conceded a goal in their previous four Champions League games, had packed their defence in the belief they could shut him out again.
But the LaLiga side are Ronaldo's favourite opponents - having scoring 22 goals against them in a nine-year spell with Real Madrid.
His coach Massimiliano Allegri had warned "it would have been weird for him to finish the Champions League with only one goal".
And after adding another three - his fourth treble against Atletico - to that tally, the competition's all-time top scorer with 124 goals goaded their fans, who had barracked him in the reverse game, by mimicking Diego Simeone's crotch-grabbing celebration.
The Argentinian coach, whose negative tactics backfired as they failed to muster a single shot on target, brushed off the taunting as the forward just "showing his character" before admitting his side could not handle the "best in the world".
Pundits agreed with his assessment, with former England striker Gary Lineker claiming Ronaldo, scorer of two towering headers and a late penalty, was "the best header of a ball I've seen".
Former Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand hailed him on BT Sport as "a living football god".
He said: "This is against an Atletico Madrid team who are renowned for having an unbelievable defence."
Former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott added: "He's up there, athletically, he's ridiculous. He loves it, to score goals in any competition.
"Even if you're 2-0 up, you don't want to be facing this guy."
The Spanish press joined in the chorus of lamentation, with Marca questioning why Real "gave away a legend".
It added: "We just saw that Ronaldo is priceless. Letting him go was a historic error, he was worth a billion.
"Madrid should never have let a player like this escape, when he had a contract, and was one of the patrons of the four Champions League wins."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
'Massive' victory gives Pochettino renewed belief. Jan 3, 2019, 5:00 am. Football: Proud Pochettino demands consistency from title-chasing Spurs. Jan 2, 2019, 5:09 am.
Mauricio Pochettino: Tottenham's win at Cardiff gives us
Barcelona can all but end Real Madrid's fading hopes of winning La Liga by beating their great rivals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Barca top the table and are nine points ahead of Real in
Can Barcelona end Real Madrid's title hopes in El Clasico?
Manchester City endured some anxious moments but escaped from fourth-tier Newport County with their FA Cup hopes intact as Phil Foden scored twice in a 4-1 fifth-round victory on Saturday. Newport
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has said the club will trigger an extension clause in Toby Alderweireld's contract.. The Belgium defender will now be contracted to Spurs until the summer of
Tottenham to trigger Alderweireld one-year contract extension
JOE BERNSTEIN AT STAMFORD BRIDGE: When Jan Vertonghen gifted Chelsea their opening goal, the groans from Tottenham's dugout would have been echoed in north London and the North-West.
Jun 07, 2019 · June 7 (UPI) --Chelsea's Willian has been announced as the injury replacement for Neymar on Brazil's Copa America squad, the Brazilian Football Confederation said Friday.Neymar is out indefinitely
Willian replaces injured Neymar in Brazil Copa America squad
Manchester United has found its replacement for Jose Mourinho, at least until the end of the season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been named as caretaker manager, the club announced in an official
OLE's at the wheel - Man United fans Fulham away feb 2019
Football News -SINGAPORE - The Fandi brothers are proving their fine vein of form is no fluke as both scored midweek for their respective clubs again.. Fandi brothers Irfan and Ikhsan score
Football: Fandi brothers Irfan and Ikhsan score again for BG
bigsportsnews.com/soccer/football-fandi-brothers-irfan-and-ikhsan-score-again-for-bg-pathum-and-raufoss-respectively/
Football: Fandi brothers Irfan and Ikhsan score again for BG Pathum and Raufoss respectively 05/16/2019 SINGAPORE - The Fandi brothers are proving their fine vein of form is no fluke as both scored midweek for their respective clubs again.
Football: Ikhsan Fandi scores in third successive match for
Top 10 Dramatic Comebacks Of 2016 Top 10 Greatest Comebacks In Football History Hit LIKE and SUBSCRIBE Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed, please Subscribe Leave your opinion! Thank for the
Top Ten NFL Running Backs of All Time - TheTopTens®
Football: Tampines Rovers stay true to playing style as they
Liverpool were unable to get their front three operating at their best, but could easily have taken a point at the end with City keeper Ederson making a fine save to keep out Mohamed Salah's
Man City end Liverpool's unbeaten run, cut lead to four
What the Spurs need to do to have a successful offseason. New I do believe they need to bet on internal development, so I'm certainly hoping he gets a chance to crack the rotation. Other
Lucas Moura identifies the most important thing Spurs must do
Latest FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE | The Straits Times
And unlike England camps of old where club rivalries have left to factions forming on international duty, Kane believes Gareth Southgate's squad will not be distracted ahead of Euro 2020
Kane: Club rivalries will not split England camp, Latest
SINGAPORE - Former Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Winston Lee withdrew his candidacy for one of nine seats on the executive committee members of the Asian Football
Football: Ex-FAS general secretary Winston Lee withdraws
sports-life-news.com/soccer/football-ex-fas-general-secretary-winston-lee-withdraws-candidacy-for-afc-exco-seat/
SINGAPORE - Former Football Association of Singapore (FAS) general secretary Winston Lee withdrew his candidacy for one of nine seats on the executive committee members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), just before the Asian football body's congress in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (April 6).
Football: Ex-FAS general secretary Winston Lee withdraws
0 comments:
Post a Comment