Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick to lead Real Madrid to
a commanding 3-0 win over city rival Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their
Champions League semifinal on Tuesday.
Ronaldo scored with a header in the 10th minute, with a strike
into the top corner in the 73rd and a close-range shot in the 86th to give the
defending champions a comfortable lead going into next week’s second leg at
Atletico’s Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Monaco hosts Juventus in the first leg of the other semifinal
on Wednesday.
Ronaldo opened the scoring after Atletico’s defence failed
to fully clear a cross into the area. Midfielder Casemiro sent the ball back in
with a bouncing shot and Ronaldo got ahead of defender Stefan Savic to nod it
past Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Ronaldo added to the lead after Atletico defender Filipe
Luis lost the ball in a challenge with the Portugal star, who entered the area
and fired a right-foot shot past Oblak into the upper corner.
He scored his 10th Champions League goal of the season with
a low shot from inside the area after a pass by Lucas Vazquez.
(AP)
