Cristiano Ronaldo’s Show-Stealing Hat-Trick Took The Spotlight Off Emre Can’s Sensational Performance

Emre Can might have put on one of his best performances in a Juventus shirt after the shift that he put in for his side's 3-0 win against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League.

The 25-year-old Germany international showed how much of a utility man he was for Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri, effectively becoming an extra defender when João Cancelo and Leonardo Spinazzola broke forward.

The Premier League Panel decided to spotlight his performance, saying that the former Liverpool star was "sensational" and was overshadowed by the performance of Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Allegri got his full-backs to bomb on [and] deliver crosses, tasking Can with providing the balance in a hybrid RCB/DM role," the Twitter user wrote.

"Can constantly stopped counters to protect Chiellini+Bonucci, perfectly carrying out his tactical role."

It's worth remembering that Can really rose to the occasion, especially with Juventus' injury list including Mattia De Sciglio, Sami Khedira, Andrea Barzagli, Juan Cuadrado and Douglas Costa.

Interestingly, there are several football fans that have agreed with Premier League Panel's analysis of Can's performance.

One Twitter user said that he had an "outstanding" match, while another said that he was "excellent" for Allegri's men.

Speaking of Allegri, the 51-year-old Italian manager praised the player's ability to slot into a three-man defensive line alongside Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci.

"We wanted to take this approach in the first leg, but we managed it in the second," he said in his post-match press conference (via Football Italia).

"If Martín Cáceres had been in that position, we would've been more defensive, whereas Emre played the ball well. I needed someone who could push forward with the ball and he did it very well.

"He defended strongly and showed good character. In my view, it was Emre Can's best performance since he's been at Juve. He proved himself tonight."

Ronaldo rose to the occasion and secured a memorable win for the reigning Serie A champions, scoring a superb hat-trick at the Juventus Stadium to overcome their 2-0 first-leg defeat in the Champions League.

While Costa was out of action, he was in attendance for the match and mocked Diego Simeone with the Atlético manager's own celebration.

Agree or disagree with Premier League Panel's thoughts on Can?

Let us know in the comments.

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Topics: Football News, Football, Leonardo Bonucci, Atletico Madrid, Emre Can, Juventus, Joao Cancelo, Champions League, Giorgio Chiellini, Massimiliano Allegri, Cristiano Ronaldo

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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