Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo says he will focus on their second-leg tie, despite their 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
The Portuguese captain hat-trick against Atletico bring his Real goals tally to 400 from 389 appearances and has now cemented his status as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer.
Ronaldo’s goals have come in the La Liga (281), the Champions League (88), the Copa del Rey (22), the Club World Cup (four), the Uefa Super Cup (two) and the Spanish Super Cup (three).
The 32-year-old admits that he is delighted to have won the match and to claim his second consecutive treble, but he remains grounded and insists his side have to prepare for their second-leg clash at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.
‘The team did a tremendous job, we were outstanding. It was a complete performance and we performed very well right from the first whistle to the last,’ Ronaldo told the Real Madrid website.
‘I’m very happy to have struck a hat-trick and make it 400 goals for Real Madrid. 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’s impressive goalscoring rate saw him overtake the likes of Raul (323 goals in 741 appearances) and Di Stefano (308 in 396), and he has become the first player to have surpassed the 100-goal mark in the European Cup.
He has also notched over 30 goals each season since joining Real Madrid from Manchester United back in 2009, having already struck 35 times in the 2016-17 campaign so far this season.