Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has broken the record for number of goals scored in the Champions League in a calendar year as he moved onto 14 for 2013 with his strike against Juventus on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese star cancelled out Arturo Vidal’s penalty, as he smashed in the equalizer against the Italian champions after latching onto a Karim Benzema pass to move onto eight in four Group B games this season, and has now eclipsed Lionel Messi’s record in 2012 of 12.
Ronaldo has now got 59 goals in the Champions League, and is now only behind the 65 goals of Messi and former Los Blancos icon Raul, who is on 71.
Ronaldo can also set another record for goals in the group stage, which he currently shares with Hernan Crespo, Filippo Inzaghi and Ruud van Nistelrooy, with one more goal against either Copenhagen or Galatasaray in Real’s remaining Group B fixtures.
After Ronaldo’s goal, Madrid took the lead through summer signing Gareth Bale, but a goal from Spaniard Fernando Llorente denied Real all three points.
Messi meanwhile scored a double to send Barcelona through, taking his tally for the calendar year to nine as the Catalans sealed their progress into the knockout stage, and is now only six goals off Raul’s all time record.
