The Portuguese scored one and assisted another against Juventus and expressed his joy as Real Madrid moved to within a point of the knock-out stages
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is elated with life at the club after his record-equalling performance during the 2-2 draw at Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.The Portuguese forward scored one and assisted another for the visitors, with his goal marking his eighth in the group stage this campaign, equalling the mark previously set by Ruud van Nistelrooy (2004-05), Hernan Crespo and Filippo Inzaghi (both 2002-03).
And though Ronaldo attempted to play down his record-breaking form - which saw him leapfrog Barcelona star Lionel Messi for the record of Champions League goals scored in a calendar year - he could not hide his joy at the Blancos' display.
"I'm so happy. This is a great moment for my career. I feel so loved and always try to do my best," he began to Sky Sport. "I'm not worried about the records. They come naturally. Its positive, but I want to win more and to be better in the future.
"We knew the difficulty against Juventus. In the first half we suffered, [but] in the second half we were redeemed. We reacted so well, we hit the post and we were better.
"As I said, we’re still improving. In my opinion, we could be better. We want to be better, but we’ll do it step by step."
Madrid sit first in Group B on 10 points, and need only one point from their remaining two games to qualify as group winners, but Juventus’ situation is far from certain, as they sit bottom of the group on 3 points, one behind Galatasaray and Copenhagen.
And though Ronaldo was eager for his side to wrap up a spot in the knock-out stages, he maintained that they could be joined in the last 16 by Juve, who he felt were strong enough to finish second.
"For us it is a good point, very important for the leadership in the group. We are ready for qualification to the knock-out stages, although it’s still not arithmetically certain," he continued.
"I think that [Juventus] play very competitively and strongly. They’re not qualified, but I think that they will end up second in the group."
Ronaldo also refused to be drawn into questions about Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who he criticised for apparently mocking the Portuguese and praising Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in the same breath.
"Blatter? I only give my answers on the pitch not outside of it. All I can say is that I feel great at the moment." ----------------- goal.com
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