Cristiano Ronaldo's Hat-Trick Lifts Real Madrid to 3-0 1st-Leg Win vs. Atletico

Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick in a 3-0 Real Madrid win as they brushed Atletico Madrid aside in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.

It was the Portugal international's second treble in as many Champions League matches—following his efforts against Bayern Munich in the last eight—and leaves Atleti with a mountain to climb in their bid to make the final.

Ronaldo opened the scoring early for Real, leaving their city rivals chasing the game, and two more late in the second half put Zinedine Zidane's side firmly in the driving seat as they continue their bid for back-to-back triumphs in Europe's top-tier tournament.

Squawka provided the two lineups ahead of kick-off: 

It was an opening half of genuine dominance for the hosts, and they could have led by more than one goal come the break.

Dani Carvajal forced a fine save from Jan Oblak in the seventh minute before Ronaldo opened the scoring with his 101st Champions League goal three minutes later.

A half-clearance from Atleti fell to Casemiro, who lofted in a cross for a poorly marked Ronaldo to head home.

BigSport provided a remarkable stat after the opener:

Oblak prevented Raphael Varane netting Real's second in the 16th minute as he got down brilliantly to push the Frenchman's header from Toni Kroos' corner just wide of the post.

Before the half-hour mark, Karim Benzema then fired a spectacular bicycle kick just over the bar following fine footwork and delivery from Ronaldo on the left.

Per football writer Tony Hodson, Los Blancos looked impressive:

But they had only one goal to show for their efforts after 45 minutes, and it could easily have been 1-1 had Kevin Gameiro taken advantage of Atleti's only real chance of the first half.

Put through on goal by a wonderful Koke ball, the Frenchman was denied by a brilliantly timed Keylor Navas sliding save, though he could have rounded the Costa Rican to an open net with a sharper first touch.

Real's Nacho replaced the excellent Carvajal at half-time following a hamstring injury to the latter late in the opening half, and after a fairly flat start to the second period, manager Diego Simeone threw on Fernando Torres and Nicolas Gaitan just before the hour.

Atleti restricted Real better immediately after the break but were still being dominated in possession terms, per Match of the Day:

Los Blancos substitute Marco Asensio made an immediate impact after his introduction in the 68th minute, as he forced Diego Godin into an excellent clearance with a superb cross as Benzema lurked.

The Atletico defending was less emphatic, though, in the lead-up to Ronaldo's second in the 73rd minute.

Filipe Luis failed to clear properly, and the ball ricocheted to Ronaldo in space on the edge of the area.

He was slightly lucky to receive the ball in such a prime position, but there was nothing fortunate about the thunderous shot he fired home from 18 yards, per Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan:

Atleti were then forced to push even further forward for an away goal, and it was a Real break that led to Ronaldo's third.

A brilliant cutback from Lucas Vazquez on the byline found the superlative forward in space near the penalty spot, and the former Manchester United man made no mistake as he dealt potentially the hammer blow in the tie.