Top 5 Cristiano Ronaldo Hat-Tricks

#2 Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid (Champions League 16/17)

This was Ronaldo's second hat-trick against Atletico that season

During the 2016/17 Champions League campaign, Real Madrid were looking to be the first team to successfully defend their title in nearly 30 years.

However, with Ronaldo playing well below his unparalleled standards in the competition it looked less likely for Real Madrid and with German titans Bayern Munich in their quarter-final tie the odds seemed stacked against Los Blancos.

Nevertheless, in typical fashion Ronaldo rose to the occasion and scored five goals against Munich over the two legs and catapulted Madrid into the semi-finals where they would face fierce rivals Atletico.

The first leg of this semi-final tie saw Ronaldo full of confidence with the Real Madrid star scoring his second hat-trick against Atletico that season with the first occurring in La Liga towards the end of 2016.

Ronaldo's first goal of his hat-trick came from a cross which he headed into the goal from close range.

Going into the second half the game still stood at 1-0, that was until Ronaldo received an awkward pass which he smashed into the goal after masterfully maneuvering himself into a position to strike the ball properly.

His third came in the latter stages of the match when Lucas Vasquez cut the ball back into the middle of the box with Ronaldo waiting to receive the ball and he slotted it past the keeper amidst the confusion of a penalty area full of players.

This hat-trick deserves the second spot for a series of reasons. The first reason is that it put Real Madrid 3-0 up going into their second leg match against Atletico which was too big a mountain for their rivals to climb meaning Real Madrid advanced to their second successive final.

Secondly, Ronaldo set an incredible record in the Champions League as his hat-trick against Atletico was his second consecutive one with him scoring another one against Bayern Munich in the previous match.

Finally, it deserves the No. 2 spot due to the diversity of goals he scored to complete the hat-trick with Ronaldo scoring a header, a long-range goal, and a close finish demonstrating his prowess in all compartments of goal scoring.