"Cristiano is a goalscorer". "It's great to have a player like Ronaldo", he said.
He said after the match: "We will try and take the chance we have, no matter how small it is". We benefit greatly from his goalscoring instincts. It was his easiest goal of the night, as he controlled Lucas Vazquez's cross in plenty of space before firing home. "In a defensive sense we were brilliant too".
A pre-match banner caused some consternation at Atletico according to reports in Spain, as Madrid fans created a display which read "tell me how it feels", with references to Milan and Lisbon.
"We delivered a fantastic performance against a good side".
Real shook off the absence of record signing Gareth Bale and an injury to Dani Carvajal in the first half to crush Diego Simeone's usually resilient side, scoring as many goals on Tuesday as Atleti had conceded in their previous seven games. "To score three goals and most importantly in a (two-legged) tie keep a clean sheet at home is very important".
It was another demoralising European defeat for Atletico at the hands of Real, who had beaten Diego Simeone's side in two of the competition's last three finals.
Zidane, though, warned against any complacency.
Smith thinks James Harden was drugged, wants investigation
Most players in the locker room expressed shock in San Antonio's performance with both Leonard and Parker out. Leonard hopes to return to action Sunday for Game 1 of the National Basketball Association semifinals series.
Effort: "I always say that with dedication and hard work things work out naturally". "We will fight until the last drop of hope". We will suffer at their place for sure. We can't go thinking that we've made it and have to head to the Calderón without thinking about the outcome of the first leg.
We are one step closer to [the final in] Cardiff and we are happy.
"When we are talking about that goal, I absolutely do not have a problem in awarding it to him".
"Simeone (Atletico Coach) is right, there's still a second leg to come".
Atletico, eliminated by Real the past three seasons, rarely threatened and now have it all to do at the Vicente Calderon next Wednesday night.
Should Atletico overturn the deficit in front of them, it would certainly go down as one of the biggest comebacks in history. Football has unexpected things. "Now we hope to finish the job".
The forward was the star of the 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid with his hat-trick putting the club within touching distance of the Champions League Final.
Comments