#StatAttack: Break-up of Ronaldo's 50 career hat-tricks
What's the story
Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 50th hat-trick of his career as the Spanish giants ran riot to beat Girona 6-3. Ronaldo's 4 goal haul was his 34th hat-trick in La Liga. This was also his 44th hat-trick for Real Madrid. He has scored 5 hat-tricks for Portugal and one for Manchester United.
Hat-trick king
Ronaldo has scored 7 hat-tricks in Champions League
7 of Ronaldo's hat-tricks have come in the UEFA Champions League, while 4 have come in World Cup qualifiers and 2 in the Copa del Rey. Sevilla have faced the brunt on 5 different occasions while Getafe, Espanyol, Celta Vigo and Real Madrid's city rivals Atletico Madrid have been on the receiving end thrice. However, Ronaldo has never scored a hat-trick in El Clasico.
Resurgence
2018 brought a change in Ronaldo's fortunes
At the start of 2018, Ronaldo had just 4 goals in La Liga and as of today he has 22 and is on second spot in the list behind Messi, who has 25 goals to his name. Since January 21, Ronaldo has scored 21 goals in 11 games. The Portuguese marksman has now scored 37 goals in all competitions while also registering 7 assists.
Record-breaker
Never doubt the magnificent Cristiano Ronaldo
After a poor start to the season, when he had just one goal till October, his critics had said he was done. Messi had scored 12 goals till then. But that didn't let Ronaldo down from taking up the challenge. Interestingly, the Portuguese ace has placed a bet with his team-mates that he will end up as La Liga's top goal scorer.
Tight competition
Ronaldo's crashes Messi's party
Fast-forward four months and Ronaldo is back to being Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring goals for fun. Now with 22 goals in La Liga, the 'Pichichi' - the award for being La Liga's top scorer is very much in reach. He has won it thrice, one less than arch-rival Messi and his red-hot streak says he is looking to set that record right.