Ronaldo hat trick leads Real Madrid to Champions League semifinals

Cristiano Ronaldo is the Kobe Bryant of soccer in that his greatness can be polarizing. You either love him for the way he can score seemingly at will, or you absolutely loathe him for his arrogance. In Ronaldo's case, it's the overwhelming vanity and excessive preening that people can't stand.

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But then there are times, much like the retiring Los Angeles Lakers legend, where you just have to admire the talent, skill and ability of an all-time great. Tuesday was one of those moments of arresting appreciation.

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Real Madrid faced a 2-0 deficit going into its Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Wolfsburg at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Ronaldo brought Real all the way back to book a place in the semifinals by recording a memorable hat trick for a 3-0 win and 3-2 aggregate victory.

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Ronaldo scored in the 15th and 17th minutes to pull Real Madrid level with the Bundesliga underdog. He then completed his hat trick in the 77th minute by slipping a free kick through the Wolfsburg wall for his 16th Champions League goal of the season.

After a frustrating 90 minutes at Wolfsburg in the first leg, Real Madrid finally broke through on the most innocent of crosses by right back Daniel Carvajal, whose hopeful ball into the box deflected off Max Arnold. The pass lost some momentum but it still bounded its way to the back post to an awaiting Ronaldo for the easy tap-in and a 1-0 lead.

Two minutes later, Ronaldo and Real were celebrating again because Wolfsburg didn't mark the prolific goal scorer in the white No. 7 shirt again. A wide-open Ronaldo connected with Toni Kroos' corner kick to the near post, and his flick-on header beat flailing goalkeeper Diego Benaglio to pull Real Madrid even at 2-2 on aggregate.

The first half wasn't just one-way traffic for Real Madrid, as Wolfsburg had some decent chances to score a tie-tilting away goal. But in the second half, it was just a matter of time before Real took advantage of the German side's leaky defense.

Real looked to have scored the go-ahead goal in the 66th minute on Sergio Ramos' header, but the goal-line assistant referee correctly ruled that Benaglio had kept the ball from completely crossing the line.

Eleven minutes later, though, that close call was all forgotten. Because it was Ronaldo to the rescue with a free kick that had eyes for the back of the net. Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane celebrated on the sidelines but also tore his pants in the process.