With his hat-trick on Saturday night, Cristiano Ronaldo took home another ball for his collection - with the difference that this one is in gold, the one he deserves after the best year of his football career. He is a new 'CR7'. Or perhaps it's better to say a new 'CR9.' With Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata injured, he played as a centre-forward, and with the team all exposed in attack, he scored three goals with three touches. He also seemed grateful for Isco's performance too, playing in his natural role just behind the No.7.
Zinedine Zidane found the perfect balance between the two, which helped to seal the victory and Ronaldo has to win another Ballon d'Or after his performance at the Estadio Vicente Calderon. It will be the fourth that he takes away from Lionel Messi. Players like him are counted on the fingers of one hand.After a decisive 3-0 victory for Real Madrid over neighbours Atletico, courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, there's little doubt that the Portuguese has shaken up the LaLiga title fight. Four points clear of Barcelona and nine ahead of Atleti, Los Blancos are in the healthiest of positions and the result was never really in doubt once Ronaldo grabbed the Madrid derby by the scruff of the neck.Although his opener needed the aid of a deflection to deceive Jan Oblak, Ronaldo's free-kick was hit with such venom that arguably it would've beaten the keeper in any event.
Things might have been even worse for Atleti had the Slovenian not somehow miraculously kept out a towering trademark header from Real's No.7. Unable to score against the Rojiblancos in his last three games at the Estadio Vicente Calderon, the venue had already seen a Ronaldo hat-trick back in the 2011/12 season when the player put on a master class of attacking play.On Saturday, Atletico's supporters said goodbye to the Madrid derby on the banks of the Manzanares but Ronaldo wanted to leave his own parting message. And he did. His hat-trick gave him 18 goals in this particular fixture, one more than Real legend Alfredo di Stefano. Ten goals so far this season of which eight in the League, Ronaldo is already the top scorer at Los Blancos and is level in the Pichichi race alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Zinedine Zidane surely couldn't have imagined his Saturday would go so well.
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