Cristiano Ronaldo revealed his delight after firing Juventus into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night.

Trailing 2-0 from the first leg of their last-16 tie, Juve needed a strong performance in Turin to move past Diego Simeone's side and reach the last eight of the competition.

Ronaldo had only managed one Champions League goal for Juve ahead of the match, but struck three times against Atletico in the second leg to inspire the Italian champions to a 3-0 win.

The Portuguese branded the result "really special" and insisted that his ability to contribute on the big occasions was the main reason Juve signed him from Real Madrid in last summer's transfer window.

"It had to be a really special night and it was. If we continue like this, we have not won yet but we have reasons to be proud and we are on the right way," Ronaldo told Sky Sport Italia.

"That's why Juve signed me and I tried to do my best job. It's a magical night. It was a very difficult team to play but we showed that we were a very big team. We proceed step by step, we will see."

Ronaldo, who has won five Champions League titles, has now scored 24 times in 36 appearances in all competitions for Juve since arriving last July.