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Cristiano Ronaldo Was Lucky Not To Be Sent Off Before His Hat-Trick

Cristiano Ronaldo Was Lucky Not To Be Sent Off Before His Hat-Trick

After a week of criticism, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first half hat-trick on Sunday but possibly shouldn't have been on the pitch.

Ryan Sidle

Ryan Sidle

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a perfect first half hat-trick against Cagliari on Sunday, but he was lucky to still be on the pitch before his second goal.

It hasn't been the best week in Ronaldo's history, with the Juve forward heavily criticised for his role in Porto knocking the Italian champions out of the Champions League.

As well as having a poor all round game, the five time Ballon d'Or winner was blamed for turning his back on the match winning free kick from the Portuguese side.

The 36-year-old had to endure all sorts of insults during the week but he responded in pretty perfect fashion in the first 32 minutes on Sunday.

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a header from Juan Cuadrado's cross but just minutes later he may have been sent off.

The former Real Madrid forward competed for a cross with opposition goalkeeper Alessio Cragno. The Cagliari number one got to the ball first and Ronaldo merely got his studs in the Italian's face, picking up a yellow card but fortunately avoiding the red.




Just 10 minutes later, Ronaldo made Cagliari pay for the fact he hadn't been sent off, when he doubled his tally from the penalty spot.

Alvaro Morata flicked the ball onto his teammate and Cragno attempted to get to the ball first but the keeper was beaten to the ball by the former Sporting winger and brought him down.

In the 32nd minute Ronald wrapped up his hat-trick by cutting in from the left to slam the ball home after a good counter attack move.

It was the perfect answer to his tough week, but it could have been a lot worse for him.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter/WWE.com

Topics: Football, Serie A, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo