Hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo warns Real against complacency after 3-0 win over Atletico in semis first-leg tie; says city rivals will come back hard
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates Real Madrid’s 3-0 win vs Atletico Madrid after the Champions League semis clash on Tuesday. Pic/Getty Images
Cristiano Ronaldo has warned against complacency after his hat-trick put Real Madrid on course for a third Champions League final in four years.
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The Portugal forward's treble against city rivals Atletico on Tuesday night earned Zinedine Zidane's men a 3-0 first-leg advantage to take to the Vicente Calderon.
"The team did a tremendous job. We were outstanding," he said, quoted on the club's website. "It was a complete performance and we performed very well right from the first whistle to the last."
Ronaldo and Real claimed after the match that the 32-year-old had moved on to 400 goals for the club, although official records say 399.
The disputed goal relates to a 2010 strike which flicked off Pepe and has been credited to the defender. Ronaldo insisted the semi-final tie was far from over ahead of next Wednesday's second leg.
"I'm very happy to have struck a hat-trick and made it 400 goals for Real Madrid," he said.
"We've now got a good lead, but there's still the return leg to come and the tie isn't over yet. Atletico are a very fine, strong side and it's not by chance that they're in the semi-finals. We'll have to be focused for next Wednesday's game."
Ronaldo had taken his tally of European goals to 100 in the quarter-final win over Bayern Munich.
50 No. of goals Ronaldo has scored in CL knockouts. He becomes the first player to reach the landmark
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