Record-breaking Ronaldo tricks Real to a new high
Print Edition
CRISTIANO Ronaldo grabbed a record 23rd La Liga hat-trick to guide leader Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
It also helped the European champion extend its club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions and equal the record run of victories set by Barcelona between October 2005 and January 2006.
Elsewhere, a ferocious drive by Jose Maria Gimenez set Atletico Madrid on the way to a 2-0 triumph at Elche that lifted it into second place.
With his latest treble he overtook greats Alfredo Di Stefano of Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao’s Telmo Zarra and he has three more hat-tricks than his present day rival Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
“The statistics he is producing are madness,” teammate Sergio Ramos said. “To be honest it is a privilege to play at Real Madrid with a player like him. You have to invent words to define him. He is beating all the records and is possibly in the best form of his career.”
Ronaldo, the inspiration behind Real’s blistering form this season, struck the opening goal from the penalty spot nine minutes before the break after he was felled by Jonny Castro.
While Real constantly looked to push forward, it also found it tough against a well-organized Celta.
There was no stopping Ronaldo though as he blasted a volley from the center of the penalty area after 65 minutes to make it 2-0 before adding a third goal from close range nine minutes from the end.
Real has 36 points from 14 games, four ahead of Atletico and five in front of Barcelona.
It Italy, Napoli rallied from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw at home to Empoli yesterday and boost its chances of securing third spot in Serie A.
Rafa Benitez’s side was poor for most of the match, allowing Simone Verdi to score his first top-flight goal on the counter and Daniele Rugani to prod home from close range in the 53rd.
However, Duvan Zapata headed Napoli back into the game and five minutes later substitute Jonathan De Guzman leveled, two minutes after coming off the bench, slotting Christian Maggio’s low cross into the bottom left corner.
On Saturday, Roma rallied from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw against Sassuolo with a stoppage-time equalizer from Adem Ljajic.
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