Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane believes whistles and jeers from the Real Madrid faithful at the Santiago Bernabeu spurred Cristiano Ronaldo to go on and put in a brilliant performance. Zidane was speaking to reporters after Real's 7-1 win over Celta Vigo.
Los Merengues were playing at home for the first time since losing to Atletico Madrid 1-0 and their fans let them know of their displeasure by whistling them at the beginning. Even Cristiano Ronaldo was not spared, as a misplaced pass from him saw the crowd whistling him.
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Zidane believes that Ronaldo was not affected by it and that he took it in his stride and used it to spur himself on. The Real Madrid legend said, "I will stick with his performance. It's part of football that the fans whistle sometimes, not just [at] Cristiano. It is like that. These are demanding fans who know the game well and always want more from their players. That is good to improve, to do more, and we always need to do more.”
He then went on to praise Ronaldo, saying, "Then, you all know Cristiano -- he is capable of putting in four. Few can do that. He is unique."
Ronaldo quickest to 350 goals with single club
The Portuguese international scored four goals against Celta Vigo, in the process getting his 30th hat-trick in La Liga. He also became the fastest player in Europe to reach 350 goals for a single club, reaching the milestone in 335 games.
Apart from those remarkable achievements, his goals last night also saw him go past Telmo Zarra on the La Liga all-time goalscorers’ chart. Ronaldo now has 252 goals in 228 matches, one ahead of Zarra who had 251. He now trails only Lionel Messi, who has scored 305 goals in 337 appearances.
The Real Madrid talisman is now also leading the La Liga “Pichichi” and European Golden Boot races, with 27 goals. Another interesting statistic regarding Ronaldo's incredible goalscoring run is that the winger has scored against 55 of the 59 teams he has faced in his Real Madrid career.
Though Real lost to Atletico in their previous league encounter, the 10-time Champions League winners have now closed to within one point of their crosstown rivals after their win against Celta. Atletico have a chance to regain their 4-point advantage when they play Valencia at the Mestalla on Sunday tonight, but Real will be hoping that they falter against Valencia, a team that even Real stumbled against.
