MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo rapped yet another Champions League hat-trick to fire Real Madrid most of the way into another final after a 3-0 demolition of neighbours Atletico in the first leg of their semi.

Ronaldo started the evening in the Estadio Bernabeu with 10 goals in semi-finals, one fewer than the record set by old Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano.

By the end of the 90 minutes his strikes after 10, 73 ands 86 minutes meant the Portuguese superstar commanded another lone 13-goal record, 10 for Madrid after three for Manchester United. The 32-year-old also scored a hat-trick in Madrid’s quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.

His second goal was the 800th in Madrid derby history and his third was his 10th in the Champions League this season, his 104th in the competition and wrapped up his seventh treble in Europe’s elite tournament.

Real were superb, outclassing the neighbours they have narrowly edged in the finals of 2014 and 2016. Now they are on track to become the first club to successfully retain the Champions League in the modern era and take their own all-time tally to 12 cups.

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