Cristiano with 18 goals passes Di Stéfano as record scorer in derby
With a hat-trick at the Calderón, the Portuguese star overtook the long-standing record of the club legend as well as making a big statement of intent for the club.
What a night at the Estadio Calderón for Real Madrid and, on a more personal level, for Cristiano Ronaldo. It'll be the Portuguese forward who makes most of the headlines and not just for securing the three points against local and title rivals Atlético Madrid.
Surpassing legends
Ahead of the game Madrid's number seven knew that he was just two goals shy of the derby record held by club legend Alfredo Di Stefano who had scored 17 times against the Manzanares neighbours. Those names he'd already left behind in this personal challenge included Butragueño (12) and Puskas (13) as he sat in second place with Santillana (15). But tonight he was heading to the home of Atleti, a place where he'd failed to find the net on his five previous visits, so few were expecting him to overake the long-standing record.
The first goal came from a free-kick just outside the area after 20 minutes. It was hit hard and low towards a breaking red and white wall. As Oblak moved to his right a deflection took the ball to his left and out of reach. One behind Di Stefano. A lazy lifted leg from Savic with 20 minutes to go allowed Cristiano to run into the contact and go down before getting straight back up again to slot home a record-equaling penalty.
Rewriting the history books
And Madrid derby goal number 18 came with the hat-trick just six minutes later. A sprinting Gareth Bale down the left then delivering a perfect pass across the box, splitting the goalkeeper and the chasing defenders, and allowing the hero of the night to take even more accolades.
The records just keep coming.
