Zinedine Zidane Talks Cristiano Ronaldo Hat-Trick After Real Madrid vs Wolfsburg

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane was ecstatic after his team beat Wolfsburg 3-0 during Tuesday's second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, calling hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo the best player in the world and the night his best as a coach so far.  

Ronaldo scored all three goals for Los Blancos, two before half-time and one after the break, to bring the aggregate score to 3-2 and send Real through. According to Zidane, there's no question who the best player in the world is, as shared by ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

The manager immediately pointed at the importance of Ronaldo's team-mates, however, who did everything possible to put the Portugal international into a position to succeed:

It was Ronaldo's fifth Champions League hat-trick, and the last goal—a clever free-kick that went through the wall and past goalkeeper Diego Benaglio—took his tally up to 16 for this campaign.

Per Bleacher Report U.K., he has now scored against 31 different clubs in Europe:

But while Ronaldo soaked up the headlines with his magnificent performance, there were other Real players deserving of praise. Wolfsburg barely mustered any major chances apart from a single open look for Bruno Henrique, who should have done better when Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas was caught out of position.

Marcelo did well to prevent a goal on that occasion, while Navas was his usual dependable self the rest of the way. Sergio Ramos, Dani Carvajal and Casemiro all put together sensational performances defensively, ensuring Real's attacking players could focus on finding a decisive third goal throughout the second half.

Per Rik Sharma of Sport, Zidane was a little surprised when one journalist asked him whether Carvajal had now proved himself in an important clash:

Zidane seemed restless and full of emotion on the sidelines throughout the match, and once the final whistle blew, it became clear how much semi-final qualification meant to him. He told reporters Los Blancos' comeback from two goals down in the first leg ranked as the best night in his short coaching career:

Real president Florentino Perez also made an appearance:

Zidane got his tactics spot-on against Wolfsburg, and reporters rightly praised him for it. There was one comment that seemed a little odd, however, in light of how his playing career ended during the 2006 FIFA World Cup final against Italy:

Corrigan remembered things differently:

But overall, Tuesday night was a rousing success for Real and Zidane. The club moves on to the semi-finals of the Champions League, the competition that will provide Los Blancos with their best chance of winning major silverware this season.

Few will have expected Zidane to have such a positive impact after just a few months on the job, but the transformation of the team has been spectacular. Under former manager Rafa Benitez, pessimism was the default setting at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu—under Zidane, it seems hope has replaced it.

Even Real's La Liga hopes are still alive, and they'll continue their domestic campaign on Saturday at Getafe.

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