CRISTIANO RONALDO once again grabbed all the headlines after firing Juventus into the last eight of the Champions League against all the odds.
The Portuguese superstar scored a hat-trick as the Old Lady turned around a 2-0 deficit against Atletico Madrid to remain on course to lift the European trophy.
Despite turning 34 in February, he showed why the Italian champions forked out a whopping £100million for his signature.
His three goals moved him level with old rival Lionel Messi for the most Champions League hat-tricks with eight.
The duo completely dominate the charts with Filippo Inzaghi, Mario Gomez and Luiz Adriano languishing behind with three.
A five-time winner of the competition, his performance last night added to this list of incredible stats.
Most Champions League goals
He has now hit a staggering 124 goals in the competition, 18 more than Messi.
The forward has also scored more goals in the Champions League than Atletico Madrid’s entire 118 total.
Ronaldo has netted twice or more on 35 different occasions in the competition.
Most knockout goals
Ronaldo continues to show why he is a big game player by scoring his 63rd knockout goal.
That’s a whopping 23 more than Messi and 29 more than Raul who sits third on the list.
Champions League knockout run
Incredibly, a team featuring Ronaldo hasn’t been knocked out of the Champions League in the last four years.
He has won three European titles in a row with Real Madrid and remains on course for his sixth.
Record against Atletico Madrid
Atleti will be sick of the sight of Ronaldo.
He has scored 25 goals in 33 appearances against the Madrid side and is the only player to score a hat-trick against Diego Simeone’s team.
But he hasn’t just got one, he has four – with three in his last eight appearances.
Champions League final record
He remains the only player to score in three Champions League finals.
Ronaldo scored twice in the 2017 win over Juventus, in the 2014 victory over Atletico Madrid and 2008 victory over Chelsea while playing for Manchester United.
Juventus are looking for their first European crown since 1996.
And when told about the statistic, Ronaldo bluntly responded: “That’s why they signed me.”
He said after the game: “This was why Juventus brought me here, to help do things that they have never done before. This is the mentality you need to win in the Champions League.
“I just do my work and I’m very happy tonight, it was a magical night. Atletico are always difficult to face, but we are also strong and we proved it.
“We wanted a special night and it was just that – not only for my goals, but for the entire team. This is the right mentality to play in the Champions League, so we must be proud.”
