Fresh from scoring the hat-trick that sent Juventus into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo declared: ‘This is why Juve bought me’.
On a frenzied night in Turin Ronaldo scored three times to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Atletico Madrid and keep the Italian champions’ dream alive.
Ronaldo scored two headers either side of half-time before keeping his cool and smashing home from the penalty spot four minutes from time to spark delirious celebrations.
He is now on course for a fourth European title in a row, with former club Real Madrid humiliated by Ajax in the Bernabeu last week.
‘It had to be a special night and it was. This is the mentality you need in the Champions League,’ the hat-trick hero told Sky Sport Italia.
‘It had to be a special night and it was, not just for the goals, but for the team and their incredible attitude.
‘This is the mentality you need in the Champions League and we are on the right track,’ CR7 told Sky Sport Italia.
It was the 34-year-old’s eighth hat-trick in the competition and his first since moving to Juve from Real Madrid in a sensational €100m move last summer.
‘This is why Juve brought me in, to help on magic nights like this’, he continued.
‘Atleti are a really tough team to face, but we are strong too and proved we deserved to go through.
‘It’s too early to talk about the final, let’s take it one step at a time.’