Cristiano Ronaldo thanked Juventus fans who applauded his stunning bicycle kick goal for Real Madrid against the Italian side on Tuesday and said he had been hoping for a long time to score in such spectacular fashion.
“Obviously people are talking about my second goal. It was a spectacular goal, possibly the best of my career,” he said in a video posted on several Spanish websites after the Champions League tie in Turin.
“I scored once for the national team with a bicycle kick, which hit the post and went in, but this was a bit better,” said the Portugal forward.
“I had been looking to score a goal like that for a long time but it depends on the circumstances of the match. Sometimes, it doesn’t’ work, but you always have to try. I tried and I scored.”
Ronaldo’s goal, when he met Dani Carvajal’s cross with an incredible overhead kick, was the second in Real’s 3-0 win in the quarter-final first leg and was applauded by the home fans.
“This was one of the nicest moments,” he said. “To be applauded by the Juventus stadium, where so many great footballers have played, is a top moment for me.
“It’s something that stays in your heart. I want to thank all the Italians who were here in the stadium and applauded me.”
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said the 3-0 defeat at home was difficult to take after his side lost a home European tie for the first time in five years.
Allegri thought his team were doing well until an eight-minute spell in the second half in which the visitors scored twice and the Turin side had playmaker Paulo Dybala sent off.
“A 3-0 defeat is hard to digest, we played a good match for the first hour but then everything turned against us,” he said.
“I don’t know if Cristiano’s goal is the best in the history of football, but it’s certainly an extraordinary goal. You can only congratulate him for what he’s doing at present.
“They really are devastating, that’s why they’ve won so much during the last few years. Once we were down to 10 men, it became impossible to turn it around.”
Juve had won 16 and drawn 11 of their 27 home European ties since a 2-0 defeat by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the 2012/13 competition under Antonio Conte.
Since then, they have reached two Champions League finals, losing to Barcelona and then Real Madrid in Cardiff last June.
“I think we have improved since Cardiff. We have to start again and think about the championship,” said Allegri, whose side are chasing a seventh successive Serie A title.
“Then we go to Madrid to play our match and we also have the Coppa Italia final.”
“We had defended very well and allowed Real very little until their second goal,” he added. “Then we paid for a misunderstanding.
“All three goals could have been avoided, but in these games if you don’t have a little bit of luck and the opposition do, it becomes difficult.”
