MADRID • Cristiano Ronaldo moved in front of Lionel Messi as the top scorer in Champions League history, as he netted a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 4-0 rout of 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk.
It was not the only record for the Portuguese on Tuesday. With his first two goals coming from the spot, he displaced former Real star Luis Figo as the competition's top penalty scorer with 11.
He then headed home to complete his second hat-trick in four days to take his tally in the competition to 80, three ahead of Messi.
"I'm not going to lie - obviously, I'm very happy with the goals and the records," Ronaldo, known as CR7, told Uefa.com. "I get a sense of pride from being in this position, but I have to mention the team, because the team have helped me so much."
Real's victory, however, was soured by an injury to Gareth Bale as the winger limped off suffering from a calf muscle problem after just half an hour.
The Wales national team will be holding their breath over the seriousness of Bale's injury, as he could miss out on sealing their qualification for an international tournament for the first time since 1958, when they face Bosnia-Herzegovina and Andorra in next month's Euro 2016 qualifiers.
With Bale off, Karim Benzema opened the scoring following a massive error from goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov.
Shakhtar's woes were compounded when Taras Stepanenko was sent off for a second bookable offence just five minutes into the second period.
Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu was critical of the officials, with referee Ivan Bebek awarding two penalties for handballs. The first was controversially given after Ronaldo's effort appeared to come off the back of Shakhtar captain Darijo Srna instead of his hand.
"I want them to respect us, but unfortunately every time during these matches against the great teams of Europe, the same things have happened," Lucescu said.
For his Real counterpart Rafael Benitez, early-season fears that Real might not have the same attacking prowess as in previous seasons have been dispelled as they have scored 15 times in their last three outings.
The Spaniard was also keen to stress the importance of keeping their fourth straight clean sheet.
"We had plenty of chances and were clinical. I am satisfied to have taken our chances and to not concede any goals," he said after having to replace defenders Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos due to minor ankle and shoulder injuries. "The only negative was the injuries to the three players we had to substitute."
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
