Ronaldo equals another record of Messi

The hat-trick in the first leg of the semi-final yesterday, May 2, helped the Real Madrid superstar striker set another historic milestone.

Cristiano Ronaldo's three goals against Atletico Madrid not only helped Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory and put one foot in the final, but also meant he has scored seven hat-tricks in the Champions League. This statistic means thatRonaldo has caught up with Messi in the record for the number of hat-tricks in Europe's top club competition..

Ronaldo has 10 goals in the Champions League this season, one less than Messi, who leads the list. But the Real striker still has at most two games left to surpass his rival and win the Golden Boot. Photo: Reuters.

Scoring a hat-trick in the Champions League, especially in a knockout round match, is never easy. But with the return leg ahead, with Atletico having little hope, Ronaldo has a good chance of surpassing Messi in the above statistics. He himself has also created the basis for that hope by reaching his peak form at the most important moment of the season.

Including his hat-trick in the first leg of the semi-final yesterday, Ronaldo has scored eight goals in just three recent Champions League knockout matches. In the previous match - the second leg of the quarter-finals, the Spanish striker also scored a hat-trick, helping Real defeat Bayern 4-2 and win 6-3 on aggregate against the mighty German opponent.

Ronaldo also becameFirst player in Champions League history to score a hat-trick in two consecutive knockout matchesof this prestigious playground. He alsobroke the record for the number of goals scored by the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano in the semi-finals of the C1 Cup(11 goals), when leading with 13 goals.

With three goals against Atletico,Ronaldo has increased his Champions League scoring record to 103. The closest person behind him is Messi, with 94 goals, but the Argentine striker cannot add any more goals this season, as Barca are already eliminated, while Ronaldo still has the second leg of the semi-finals, and most likely, the final, to deepen the gap.

If only counting within the framework of the Madrid derby, Ronaldo became the first player in history to score 20 goals in thethis confrontation. Not only that, with 103 goals, Ronaldo himself has more goals in the Champions League than the entire number of goals that Atletico has scored in the history of participating in this tournament (100 goals).

According to VNE