The change of clubs last summer hasn’t adversely impacted the individual performances of the 5 time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar has continued to produce a series of thumping performances, this time for his side Juventus.
The 34-year-old striker produced a phenomenal performance against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night as he fired Juventus to one of the greatest comebacks in the competition’s history. Ronaldo’s hat-trick was like a rogue wave hitting the shoreline for Atletico Madrid’s rock-solid defense.
This effort saw the Portuguese becoming the top scorer in UEFA Champions League history, with 124 in 160 appearances.
Ronaldo looks like has adjusted pretty well with Serie A, as he has found the net 19 times along with 8 assists to his name in the Italian League.
Age is not at all a barrier for Ronaldo, as he continues to deliver high quality showings one after the other. If anything, he seems to be getting better with age, and now looks capable of turning a game around no matter how hopeless it may seem.
On that note, let us take a look at his top three performances for the Bianconeri so far this campaign.
#3 – Brace against Sampdoria
On 29th December 2018, Sampdoria headed to Turin in their bid to hamper Juventus’s title defense. But the hosts took the lead in just two minutes from the start, thanks to a curling strike by Ronaldo from the edge of the box.
After the score by leveled by the visitors on the 33th-minute mark, it was Ronaldo again who put the hosts in front with a well-taken penalty.
He remained a constant threat for Sampdoria throughout the game, and once hit the crossbar with a powerful right-footed strike. His brace saw the Old Lady claiming all the three points.
#2 Goal vs AC Milan
Ronaldo led Juventus to their first silverware of the season as he scored the all-important goal against AC Milan to clinch the Supercoppa Italiana.
The final became more and more intense as time passed, but on the 61th-minute mark Ronaldo scored with a headed finish. Just like that, the Bianconeri had acquired the lead and the tide had turned in favor of the reigning champions.
#1 Hat-trick vs Atletico Madrid
Juventus entered the Allianz Stadium needing something miraculous to make into the last eight of the UEFA Champions league, having suffered a 0-2 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the first leg.
It was none other than than Ronaldo who inspired and kick-started one of the greatest comebacks in football history. The Portuguese was on absolute fire that night, and ran rampant throughout the game.
He opened the account for Juventus by finding the back of the net with a headed finish from an outstanding cross by Federico Bernardeschi. The score was level on aggregate just before half time as Ronaldo scored a goal with yet another headed strike. Then in the dying moments, the historic comeback was complete thanks to Ronaldo’s strike from the spot.
Ronaldo has had numerous stunning Champions League nights when he delivered some picture-perfect performances, and this was surely his one of the best.
[Sportskeeda]
