Ronaldo makes it 101
Cristiano Ronaldo defied boos from Real Madrid's infamously demanding fans to "demolish" Bayern Munich and set another personal milestone with 101 Champions League goals.
On a night of high drama and controversy at the Santiago Bernabeu the Portuguese striker once again dominated the headlines with a hattrick to send the holders into the semifinals for a record seventh straight year.
But they needed extra time -- and some questionable officiating -- to beat 10-man Bayern 4-2 on Tuesday to seal a 6-3 aggregate win.
Ronaldo's second on Tuesday to bring up a century in the competition -- including qualifiers -- and third to round off his hattrick were allowed to stand despite the Portuguese clearly being offside.
Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane understandably wanted the attention focused on his four-time World Player of the Year rather than Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai.
"When you see what Cristiano is doing, it is really impressive," said Zidane. "He always knows when there's an important moment he's going to be there.
"He's out of this world. There are few players who will manage to do what Ronaldo has done."
Ronaldo now has a remarkable 85 Champions League goals in as many games since joining Madrid in 2009.
However, he had been on his longest European goal drought for Los Blancos having failed to score in six Champions League games before the first leg last week.
Real fans were quick to make their feelings known as the 32-year-old produced an error-strewn first-half display.
It is not the first time the Bernabeu natives have booed Ronaldo and he grew increasingly desperate to find the net with a series of wild efforts, including at one point ignoring strike partner Karim Benzema to go for goal himself, infuriating the home crowd.
"The only thing I ask is that they don't boo me because I give my best in every game," Ronaldo said afterwards.
He had already made his point with a hush gesture by pointing his finger to his lips after heading home his opening goal.
"Maybe they will not whistle him anymore," Zidane said hopefully.
Comments