Joe Cole bags hat-trick for French champions Lille at lowly Chantilly
• On-loan midfielder gets three in 6–0 win against amateurs
• Cristiano Ronaldo slammed after goal-celebration strop
Joe Cole scored a hat-trick as Lille began their defence of the French Cup with a 6-0 win away to the amateur side Chantilly in the second round.
The former Chelsea midfielder, who is on loan from Liverpool, has been in good form for the French champions and has now scored six goals since crossing the Channel.
Chantilly play five divisions below Lille and could not cope with the visitors’ attack. Poland’s striker Irineusz Jelen scored twice and the Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard added a penalty.
In Spain, Cristiano Ronaldo was the target of harsh criticism from the pro-Real Madrid sports presson Sunday after he reacted to whistling and grumbling from a section of the fans at the Bernabéu by refusing to celebrate a goal.
The Portuguese, the world’s most expensive player who earns around €10m a season, scored Real’s fifth in Saturday’s 5-1 drubbing of Granada, his 21st La Liga goal of the campaign.
However there appears to be a perception among some fans that he can be too selfish and he reacted to their complaints, which were also audible in last month’s 3-1 defeat to Barcelona, by declining to celebrate and walking back to his own half with his head bowed.
“Since the game against Barça, a significant section of the stadium has been complaining about Ronaldo’s performances and he doesn’t like it,” Marca wrote on Sunday. “But a goal is a collective achievement, the ultimate expression of a job well done by the team. If Cristiano doesn’t like the way the fans are expressing themselves, the worst thing he can do is show it in the celebration of a goal. Above and beyond the individual scorer, it’s a Real Madrid goal. By the whole team.”
Writing in Marca’s Madrid-based rival As, Antonio Romero noted that Ronaldo’s patchy performances of late have meant he is being overshadowed by Karim Benzema, who scored twice on Saturday and got the winner in last week’s comeback victory against Malaga in the King’s Cup.
The Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain, who scored Real’s third against Granada, was also stealing some of Ronaldo’s limelight and developing a fine partnership with Benzema, Romero said.
“The two together have some impressive statistics and are learning to understand each other better all the time. That means Cristiano will have to get used to sharing the responsibilities in attack for the good of the team. And do it with a smile.”"
The assistant coach Aitor Karanka, standing in for José Mourinho at Saturday’s post-match news conference, said Ronaldo had been “angry with himself because things weren’t coming off well for him”.
The Portuguese’s team‑mate Sergio Ramos, one of the club captains, said: “That’s just the way Ronaldo is. We are happy with him.”
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- Real Madrid 5-1 Athletic Bilbao: Cristiano Ronaldo Bags A Hat-Trick As Los … – Goal.com India
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