How Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win the magical UEFA Champions League three-peat
Cristiano Ronaldo, undoubtedly, performed exceptionally and was at the peak of his powers during Real Madrid's legendary three-peat of Champions League titles. It was the contribution of the whole team, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Sergio Ramos, etc. managed by the French maestro himself, Zinedine Zidane.Yet, someone had to perform out of the ordinary to make it happen and it was none other than the Portuguese maestro.
No super-teams have attained massive success without a strong deciding factor or a cheat code per se. For example, prime Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski were pivotal to Barcelona and Bayern Munich's respective sextuples. In Real Madrid's case, the hero was Cristiano Ronaldo. Hat-tricks against Atletico and Bayern, the comeback against Wolfsburg and slaying an undefeated Juventus, Ronaldo's exploits captured the world's attention. Let us take a look at the remarkable events through the three-peat timeline.
Before the epic quarterfinal against Wolfsburg, Ronaldo had scored 13 goals and assisted four in the group stages and Round of 16, including a poker (four goals) against Malmö. Los Blancos, surprisingly, suffered a 2-0 away defeat in the first leg. Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as Zidane asked the fans to keep calm as they were ready for the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
They went into the match with a disadvantage, but were nevertheless, favorites. Sixteen minutes after the starting whistle, Ronaldo found the back of the net after a deflected cross from Carvajal. Hardly a minute later, he scored again from the corner with a sharp header. The odds were tilted in Real's favour again.
Fast forward to the 77th minute, Madrid got a free-kick after Modric was fouled. Cristiano, as always, stood over the
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