Cristiano Ronaldo scored a spectacular hat-trick to fire Juventus into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Tuesday that saw his side claim a thrilling tie 3-2 on aggregate.
The Portuguese superstar scored two headers either side of half-time and a late penalty to clinch a place in Friday’s last-eight draw with a dominant display by the Italian champions in Turin.
“It was always going to be a special night and it was, not only for the goals, but for the team,” said Ronaldo.
“This is the mentality of champions. This is why Juve brought me in, to help on magical nights like this.”
Diego Simeone’s Atletico were a shadow of the team who had run riot in the first leg in Madrid, and crashed out of the tournament they had been hoping to win in their own Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on June 1.
“The lads have shown great maturity,” said Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri.
“They interpreted the game at their best, I have to congratulate them. This is what we wanted in the first leg.
“Tonight we were lucid, there was the risk of having a hysterical match, as if everything had to be done in 10 minutes.”
It is the eighth time that Ronaldo has scored a hat-trick in the competition and mirrors his improbable treble which lifted former club Real Madrid past Wolfsburg in April 2016 with the Spaniards 2-0 down after the first leg.
The Champions League’s record scorer took his tally in the tournament to 124, with four goals this season.
Juventus signed 34-year-old Ronaldo last summer from Real Madrid for 100 million euros ($117 million) in order to make the difference on the continent for the Italian champions, who have not won the Champions League since 1996 and have finished runners-up twice in the past four seasons.
And five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo pulled out a spectacular performance as he spearheaded the attack along with Federico Bernardeschi and Mario Mandzukic.
