Real vs Atletico: Ronaldo shines on the big stage

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Real Madrid blew away Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last night courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick. The Portuguese took the centre stage once again in the competition as he took up his goals tally to 10. Real won the match 3-0 and the two-legged tie seems well and truly over. Unless Atletico can conjure up some magic in the second leg.

Ronaldo is the man

Cristiano Ronaldo truly loves the big stage. It looks as if he was saving his finest performance for the grand occasion. The multiple times Ballon d’Or winner scored a hat-trick in the match. He started off the scoring in the 10th minute of the match. Ronaldo neatly headed the back into the back of the net after the ball bounced off the ground from a Casemiro centre.

Real and Ronaldo’s second goal came in the 73rd minute of the game. Atletico’s Filipe Luis failed to clear his lines only for Ronaldo to pounce on the loose ball. The third goal came just four minutes before the regulation time as Ronaldo scored his third for the night. It was a move that was basically started by him and he was at the end to finish it off.

One step towards Cardiff

It looks as if Real Madrid have already booked their ticket to the Champions League finals in Cardiff. They will play the second leg of the competition with a three-goal advantage and bags full of confidence. And with Atletico failing to grab an away goal, it is certainly an uphill task for Diego Simeone’s men to turn around such a huge deficit.

Can Real pull off the impossible?

Since it’s inception in 1992 no team has been successful in defending their Champions League crown. Many a team have tried but failed. But with the form Real Madrid are this campaign they might just pull off the unimaginable and win the competition once again at Cardiff.