Zinedine Zidane calls Cristiano Ronaldo ‘the world’s best’

Ronaldo’s hat-trick turned the quarter-final tie on its head Getty

Zinedine Zidane hailed Real Madrid’s comeback against Wolfsburg as the “best night” of his fledgling coaching career.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick saw Real overturn a two-goal deficit from the first leg to progress to the Champions League semi-finals.

The Portuguese forward – hailed as “the best player in the world” by his coach – scored twice in the space of 88 first-half seconds before securing a 3-2 aggregate victory from a 77th-minute free-kick.

Cristiano Ronaldo is chasing his fifth European Golden Shoe award

Cristiano Ronaldo is looking to win the European Golden Shoe yet again

Cristiano Ronaldo is chasing a fifth European Golden Shoe after adding to his tally with the winner in El Clasico at the weekend.

 

The Real Madrid star is already the only man to have won the award on four separate occasions and is only one goal adrift of Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain and Benfica’s Jonas this season.

With more games remaining in Spain than Portugal, and Higuain facing a four-game suspension in Italy, Ronaldo is well placed to retain the prize.

However, the race for the Golden Shoe isn’t as straightforward as it seems. As well as goals, the strength of the league you’re playing in is also a factor.