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What’s the story?
Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly told his family and close friends that he would score a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid prior to Tuesday's Champions League 2nd leg tie.
In case you didn’t know…
The Portuguese was in sensational form on Tuesday as he led Juventus to overturn a 2-0 first-leg loss to advance 3-2 on aggregate to the quarter-final of the competition. The 34-year-old showed tremendous character, scoring all three goals on the night for the Old Lady.
Ronaldo put the Serie A champions in the lead on 27 minutes, before doubling the lead right after the start of the second half. With less than five minutes to the end of the game, he completed his hat-trick after expertly concerting from the penalty spot.
The Portuguese had his girlfriend and his son in the stadium as he put up yet another scintillating performance on a European night.
The heart of the matter
It has been revealed that Ronaldo predicted his hat-trick against Atletico Madrid even before the game started.
According to a publication by Spanish outlet Marca, the Juventus superstar was so confident he told his family and other close friends that he would score thrice and that the Italian champions would progress to the quarter-final of the Champions League.
Ronaldo’s prediction, indeed, came to pass, as he singlehandedly bailed Juventus out of trouble, with a third career hat-trick against Diego Simeone’s side.
The Portuguese netted his first hat-trick against Atletico during a La Liga game in the 2016/17 season, before again repeating the feat during a Champions League semi-final clash between Real Madrid and the Rojiblancos later in the same season.
What’s next?
With Champions League qualification sealed, Ronaldo will now turn attention back to Serie A action where Juventus will be facing Genoa over the weekend.
