<img title="Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring his first goal for Real against APOEL Nicosia in Madrid on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/sep/ron-score.jpg" alt="Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring his first goal for Real against APOEL Nicosia in Madrid on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images" /> Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring his first goal for Real against APOEL Nicosia in Madrid on Wednesday. Pic/Getty Images
Zinedine Zidane declared Cristiano Ronaldo "the best in the world" after he marked his Real Madrid return by scoring twice in the 3-0 Champions League victory over APOEL Nicosia.
Ronaldo is currently four games into a five-match domestic ban for pushing the referee after being sent off in the Spanish Supercopa clash with Barcelona last month.
<img title="Zinedine Zidane" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/sep/zidane-real.jpg" alt="Zinedine Zidane" /> Zinedine Zidane
But Ronaldo was as sharp as ever in taking his Champions League goals tally to 107 with a close-range effort and a second-half penalty. Skipper Sergio Ramos added an overhead kick as Real &mdash; winners of the Champions League three times in the last four seasons &mdash; began the defence of their trophy in style.
"He's the best in the world," Real manager Zidane said about Ronaldo. "He's always there, he always scores. If he was luckier today, he could have scored four. We know the ability that Cristiano has."
Real should have won by a greater margin with Ronaldo striking the crossbar and having another effort ruled out for offside. Isco and Gareth Bale also went close, but Zidane was content after the game, saying: "We are happy. There are no quiet games. APOEL have experienced players and are not overwhelmed by the Bernabeu; they just went out and played. If you're not focused, they can hurt you."

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Zinedine Zidane: Cristiano Ronaldo is the best in the world

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