Cristiano Ronaldo Outshines Lionel Messi in Real Madrid Victory vs Shakhtar Donetsk

Cristiano Ronaldo showed that he was on top of his game on Tuesday as Real Madrid thumped Shakhtar Donetsk in a 4-0 victory.

Euronews reported that the football player scored three goals, two from the penalty spot, making him the top scorer in the Champions League, three points ahead of FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

It added that his most impressive play was a hat-trick at the Bernabeu which gave his team the victory they worked hard for.

This goal achievement for Ronaldo, according to ESPN, has brought up a comparison of goals between the two biggest players in the game, even prompting projections for the two.

"These projections account for the historical performance (goals scored and minutes played) of the two players since 2010, strength of opposing defences faced (measured by SPI defensive rating), game location and the potential for injury or missing games. From this, we can project the total number of goals scored, hat tricks and the chance of each player accruing more goals than the other over the course of the entire Liga season," explained analyst Zach Bradshaw in the ESPN report.

Real coach Rafa Benitez said in the Euronews report that the team did a good job during the recent match.

"Without playing a brilliant match we still created a lot of chances. I am very pleased to have taken those we did and not to have conceded a goal again," Benitez added.

Meanwhile, Benitez also told ESPN FC that he has always believed in what Ronaldo can do.

"I know Cristiano's level. He shows it in training and in games. He is the best player in the world. We don't need to talk about it so much, what I have said or not said and just look at what Cristiano does on the pitch," the coach added.

He also noted that he was proud of Ronaldo's feat as the leading scorer in La Liga.

"[Cristiano] is excellent. He is among the best, and I cannot say the best, because I have coached some very good players. But today he is the best player in the world. I didn't have the good luck to see [Madrid legend Alfredo] Di Stefano on the pitch, but he was that. Raul, yes, I coached him and he was a competitor and a winner. Cristiano has that same mentality," Benitez added.

Since he was ecstatic with their victory, Mirror observed that Ronaldo was displaying affection to his teammates, giving them hugs as they scored and when they celebrated their win.

"Training ahead of Real Madrid's clash with Shakhtar Donetsk, Ronaldo had a quick, manly hug with Marcelo - presumably in celebration of a particularly skilful passing drill. Luka Modric then came up for a hug, too. It seemed a little tongue-in-cheek, but fair enough. Then came Keylor Navas," added the same report.