Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player in history
to score 100 goals in the Champions League after his hat-trick fired Real
Madrid past Bayern Munich on Tuesday evening.
The 32-year-old ran to Madrid’s rescue once again as
Zinedine Zidane’s side looked close to being eliminated at the quarter-final
stage.
Ronaldo netted an equaliser after Robert Lewandowski
opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the second half.
But with just 13 minutes remaining, Sergio Ramos guided
the ball into his own net to force extra time.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted three times for Real Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final win over Bayern Munich and, in doing so, beat Lionel Messi in the race to become the tournament's first player to reach 100 goals.
Last
week, the Portuguese international's second-half double in Los Blancos' 2-1 win
at the Allianz Arena moved him to 97 goals in Europe's premier cup competition
(excluding the play-off rounds), three ahead of his Argentine rival, who failed
to register as Barcelona suffered a 3-0 loss at Juventus the night before. On
Tuesday, Madrid's main man made history.
Real Madrid are the first team to qualify for 7 #ChampionsLeague semifinals in a row.
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2012
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2017
When
the season began, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Ronaldo would become the
first player to rack up 100 Champions League goals. Although it was Messi who
had broken Raul's record (71), in 2014, Ronaldo had stormed past his great
rival by netting 16 times during Madrid's triumph last season.
That
had taken the former Manchester United man to 93 goals in the Champions League
proper, 10 ahead of Messi. However, while Ronaldo had a relatively quiet to
start to Madrid's bid for a 12th European Cup triumph, netting just twice in
six group-stage appearances, Messi caught fire again.
The
No.10 kicked off his campaign with three of Barcelona's seven goals in their
demolition of Celtic at Camp Nou to take outright possession of the Champions
League hat-tricks record that he had shared with Ronaldo.
Messi
bagged another treble (his fifth in tournament history) in his next outing,
against Manchester City, before scoring again in the return leg at the
Etihad. Then, after a double at Celtic Park, and a solitary strike against
Borussia Monchengladbach on matchday six, Messi moved to 93 goals, just two
behind Ronaldo.
Messi may be better to watch on his day, and
there’s little argument about which of the two seems the more humble or
likeable character, but some of the criticism aimed at the Real Madrid
front-man is bordering on the deluded at times.
As these numbers below show, he’s more than
just a show-pony or flat-track bully, so let these stats sink in and appreciate
the phenomenal consistency of one of the greatest goal-scorers the game has
seen…
First player to 100 Champions League goals
His hat-trick last night took him to 101 in
total. How many more can he score in his career?
First player to score a Champions League hat-trick against
Bayern Munich
He may have had a little help from the
linesman for this one, but an impressive feat nevertheless.
Most goals in a single group stage
He netted 11 times in six group games in
2015/16. Not bad.
Most goals in the knockout phase
His record currently stands at 42, and you
wouldn’t bet against him adding to that in this season’s semi-finals and final.
Most Champions League goals in a single season
He scored an incredible 17 times as Real
Madrid won the competition in 2013/14.
Most Champions League goals in a calendar year
2013 was a particularly good year for Ronaldo
in the Champions League, as he netted 13 times in total.
Only player to score 15 or more in two Champions League seasons
He achieved it in 2013/14 and 2015/16, both
times contributing to lifting the trophy.
First player to score three Champions League hat-tricks in
a season
Most Champions
League braces
Most away goals in the Champions League
Clearly not one for travel sickness, Ronaldo
has scored 42 times on the road in Europe.
Most consecutive Champions League away games scored in
He also scored in 12 away games in a row,
more than any other player.
Only player to score for two different winning finalists
He scored in Manchester United’s win over
Chelsea in 2007/08, and for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid in extra time
in 2013/14. And while it doesn’t count, he also got the winning penalty in last
season’s shoot-out victory over Atletico. Don’t say he doesn’t love the big
games.
It can’t be easy being this good…
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