Cristiano Ronaldo equals Lionel Messi’s hattrick
Cristiano Ronaldo equalled Lionel Messi’s Champions League record after scoring his eighth hat-trick in the competition.
Ronaldo moved level with Barcelona foe Messi following his three-goal haul in Turin, where Juventus completed a stunning comeback to eliminate Atletico Madrid 3-2 on aggregate en route to the quarter-finals.
Messi had broken the tie with Ronaldo during Barca’s 4-0 rout of PSV in September but the Juventus star equalled the feat on Tuesday.
Juve lost the opening leg of the last-16 tie against Atletico in Madrid but five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo led the Italian champions to the quarters following their 3-0 victory.
8 – Cristiano Ronaldo has scored eight Champions League hat-tricks, the joint-most in the competition alongside Lionel Messi. Titans. pic.twitter.com/q2b0equOYb— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 12, 2019
Ronaldo set the tone with his 27th-minute opener before heading past Jan Oblak again four minutes into the second half.
The 34-year-old then completed the fightback from the penalty spot with four minutes remaining – taking his goals tally in the Champions League to 124 in 160 appearances.
