By Vivem Soriano
Eagle News Service
Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace to lead visitors Real Madrid to a 3-0 thrashing of Juventus in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal match-up at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy on Tuesday, April 3.
Ronaldo started the rampage right off the gates, quickly scoring the opening goal at the 3rd minute of the match. The Portuguese pounced a goal from an Isco cross towards the box past Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
That goal was also a historic milestone for Ronaldo, as he became the first player to score in ten straight Champions League matches.
He then scored a goal for the ages in the 64th minute, rising to the air and then sending what appeared to be a high cross from Madrid defender Dani Carvajal into the back of the net with a stunning bicycle kick.
The goal was so superb that the home crowd in Turin rose up in applause of the superb goal scored by the Portuguese winger.
To make matters worse for the home team, Juventus lost striker Paulo Dybala in the 66th minute after the Argentinian was booked for a second yellow card after a nasty challenge against Carvajal.
Real Madrid then piled more misery against 10-man Juventus in the 72nd minute, with Marcelo scoring another goal via a Ronaldo connection against a helpless Buffon.
For Real Madrid, the victory practically assures the defending European champions passage to the semis, while last season’s runner-up Juventus will travel to Madrid next week without star striker Dybala. The Italian giants would then need to score 3 goals without conceding any to just even force extra time.
That would be a tall order as the Spanish giants have only lost 3-0 once this season, against bitter rivals Barcelona.
Aside from Barcelona, only three other teams were able to score 3 goals against Madrid this season: English club Tottenham and fellow Spanish sides Real Betis and Girona.
If there would be any consolation for Juventus, Madrid captain Sergio Ramos will miss the second leg next week after being booked for the second straight game.