The mission seemed impossible for Juventus after the first leg.
A defeat at Atletico Madrid meant the Old Lady needed three goals without allowing one against one of the best defenses in all of Europe.
But Juventus has something this year it’s never had before: Cristiano Ronaldo.
The former Real Madrid superstar paid off his immense transfer fee with one incredible performance, scoring a hat trick to lead Juventus to a 3-2 aggregate win in the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday in Turin.
So epic was the performance, capped by a contentious penalty kick in the 86th minute, that Ronaldo’s partner, Georgina Rodríguez, was brought to tears watching in the stands with Cristiano Jr.
Rodríguez and Cristiano Jr. witnessed to one of Ronaldo’s best performances in the Champions League, which is saying something considering the dude just tied Lionel Messi for the most UCL hat tricks (eight) while extending his record for goals in the competition to 124.
Cristiano Junior was pumped pic.twitter.com/TCSOOJzVpY
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) March 12, 2019
After a 2-0 defeat in Madrid, Juventus came out on fire in Turin, creating a number of chances early and often. The Bianconeri had a goal disallowed for Ronaldo fouling Jan Oblak in the opening minutes .
Early drama in Turin A 4th-minute Juventus goal is disallowed due to Cristiano Ronaldo interfering with the goalkeeper
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) March 12, 2019
But Ronaldo would not be denied, twice scoring with his head to even the series.
In the 27th minute, Ronaldo gave Juve a 1-0 lead when he outjumped Juanfran (to be fair, not a difficult task) to reach this back-post header.
¡¡SIIIIUUUUUUU, GOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL DE LA JUVEEEE!! ¡¡ GOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL DE LA JUVEEEE!! Apareció CR7 con un cabezazo @juventusfces 1-0 @Atleti (1-2)
Disfruta el partido EN VIVO https://t.co/dWDH4cPAul pic.twitter.com/qTwSQx57VO— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) March 12, 2019
Four minutes into the second half, Ronaldo made it 2-0, evening the aggregate series.
¡¡¡GOOOOOLLLL DELLLL BICHOOOOOOOO!!! ¡¡¡GOOOOOLLLL DELLLL BICHOOOOOOOO!!! ¡¡¡GOOOOOLLLL DELLLL BICHOOOOOOOO!!! Tenía que ser CR7, doblete de Cristiano. @juventusfces 2-0 @Atleti (2-2)
Disfruta el partido EN VIVO https://t.co/dWDH4cPAul pic.twitter.com/eJT71Oz6Aq— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) March 12, 2019
Ronaldo was feeling it all game, using his bag of tricks to negligible effect. But it was his athleticism and heading ability that proved pivotal.
As the match wore on, Diego Simeone’s men looked like they might force extra time.
Then Federico Bernadeschi went off on a rampaging run into the box, where he fell down and earned a penalty kick.
¡¡PENAL, PENAL, PENAL PARA LA JUVE!!@juventusfces 2-0 @Atleti (2-2)
Disfruta el partido EN VIVO https://t.co/dWDH4cPAul pic.twitter.com/JZYWBkwVwJ— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) March 12, 2019
Bernadeschi was great all game, and this was another magnificent run to reach the Atleti box. But was there enough contact, or did he clip himself?
The push that put Juve ahead pic.twitter.com/MpQFWOjPgv
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) March 12, 2019
It doesn’t really matter what you think. The refs (and presumably the VAR) thought it was a foul, so Ronaldo stepped up to the spot and smashed the ball into the back of the net.
¡¡MR. CHAMPIONSSSS SIIIIUUUUUUU!! CRISTIANOO CON EL TRIPLETE PARA DARLE LA VUELTA A LA ELIMINATORIA. SENCILLAMENTE THE BEST @juventusfces 3-0 @Atleti (3-2)
Disfruta el partido EN VIVO https://t.co/dWDH4cPAul pic.twitter.com/NluplDjaYj— Univision Deportes (@UnivisionSports) March 12, 2019
With that, Juventus took the 3-2 win to oust Atletico Madrid, all thanks to another epic Cristiano Ronaldo hat trick. He’ll probably score again later tonight, based on his partner’s reaction.
It’s hard not to compare Juventus to Real Madrid right now. Juve has Ronaldo and Real Madrid does not.
Having Cristiano Ronaldo vs not having Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/5GVTTFb1By
— The18 (@the18com) March 12, 2019
And the Ronaldo family is loving Italy.
Poor Madrid.