Hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo heaped praise on manager Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid turned round a two-goal deficit against VFL Wolfsburg on a “magical night” in the Champions League.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg in Germany, Los Blancos entered a boisterous Santiago Bernabeu determined to give the home crowd something to cheer and struck twice in the opening 17 minutes to wipe out the away side’s aggregate
lead.
Ronaldo nabbed both of those, and the 31-year-old took his European tally to 93 with a second-half free kick, to secure Madrid’s place in the last four for the sixth successive season.
And while the Portuguese star was happy to take centre stage with his goals, he elected to send praise elsewhere, praising his teammates, his manager and the club’s supporters.
“I love working with Zidane.” said Ronaldo after his latest goalscoring supershow.
“I love his personality and the way he manages us. I’m very happy.
“Just because I scored three goals today it doesn’t mean it’s my best game. I’m very happy about the goals, but the important thing is the team.
“The fans have been sensational tonight. We have taken an important step.
“It was a perfect night. I said it would be a magical night, and it was.”
Ronaldo’s treble took him to a staggering 46 goals in 42 games this season – including 16 in 10 Champions League matches.
And Ronaldo, whose latest treble was his 37th for the Spanish giants, took aim at the Spanish press: “I work a lot. Goals, assists, and victories come naturally. When you work, God repays you.”
“The media says I’m having a bad season, but just look at my numbers. Not bad eh?”
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