Cristiano Ronaldo made history yesterday when he scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich. He became the first player to score 100 career goals in the UEFA Champions League history. However, there was some controversy involved because it was speculated that he was of two of his goals.
Scoring touch
Ronaldo won his first top scorer’s title in Champions League with Manchester United in the 2007-08 season. Scoring is nothing new to Ronaldo, as he won the Champions League’s top scorer’s title in each of the last four seasons. Ronaldo’s ridiculous scoring ratio in Europe sky rocked when he joined Real Madrid.
A long wait
Ronaldo won the UEFA Champions League in 2007-2008 with Manchester United against Chelsea in penalties. Ronaldo had to wait until the 2013-14 campaign to lift the famous Los Blancos’ quest to win La Decima, the club’s 10th Champions League victory.
Juventus eliminated Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition in 2014-15, with Ronaldo scoring both of their goals in a 3-2 aggregate loss. Real would bounce back a year later to win another UEFA Championship League against Atletico Madrid in penalties.
Historic
Ronaldo has smashed so many records in the UEFA Championship League. Here are a couple of mind-blowing stats.
- Most goals scored in a UEFA Champions League/European Cup season: 17 goals in 2013–14 season
- Most goals scored in the UEFA Champions League group stage: 11 goals in 2015–16 season
- Most goals scored in UEFA Champions League knockout phase: 45 goals
- Most UEFA Champions League goals scored in a calendar year: 15 goals in 2013
Conclusion
Regardless of the constant hate that Ronaldo receives he remains one of the most dangerous forwards in the world. Along with age players have to adapt and he has become more deadly inside the box his pace has dropped due to his age. However, that being said he is obsessed with being the best player in the world. Therefore I expect him not to slow down in terms of scoring goals heading into the future.
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Photos were provided courtesy of ESPN FC, Telegraph, Dail Mail UK, The Guardian, CBC
