The prolific attacker was on target against Juventus, leaving only one of the game’s all-time greats ahead of him on the biggest occasion
Cristiano Ronaldo has become just the second player ever to score in three different Champions League or European Cup finals.
By netting in the 20th minute against Juventus to open the scoring at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, the Ballon d’Or winner has move to second in the all-time list, ahead of rival Lionel Messi, who has netted in two different showpieces. He completed a slowing move with aa deflected first-time finish low past Gianluigi Buffon to put his side 1-0 up over Juventus.
Ronaldo’s first final goal came for Manchester United against Chelsea in 2008, when he opened the scoring for Sir Alex Ferguson’s men with a towering header. Six years later, he capped Madrid’s 4-1 extra-time victory over Atletico Madrid with a last-minute penalty, which sparked wild celebrations from the player.
Fittingly, the only man to have bettered the Portugal attacker’s tally is fellow Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who scored in five different finals.
Argentina-born Di Stefano was a member of the Madrid side that dominated European football from 1956 until 1960.
Remarkably, he scored in five successive showpieces, scoring Los Blancos’ first goal in a final as they rallied from 2-0 down to beat French side Reims in 1956 and grabbing a hat-trick in the famous 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, having been beaten to the first treble by two minutes by Ferenc Puskas.
