Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo started 2020 on a positive note, scoring his 56th career hat-trick. In the process, Juventus beat Cagliari 4-0 in a Serie A match on Monday.

Scoring a hat-trick isn't unusual for the Juve forward. However, this was the first time that he registered three goals in a match for the Old Lady. As the current football season in Italy approaches its mid-point, Ronaldo has already scored 13 league goals.

So far this season, the defending Serie A champions have collected 45 points from 18 matches. As we speak, Inter Milan is leading the table with equal points out of the same number of matches. However, Inter has superiority in terms of goal difference.

Cagliari held the Old Lady goalless until the 49th minute. Ronaldo scored his first goal just after the break. He then netted the second one from a penalty in the 67th minute. Later, substitute Gonzalo Higuain tripled the lead for Juve before CR7 claimed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute.

Ronaldo scores first Juventus hat-trick
Ronaldo scored in his fifth consecutive league game Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Juventus had full control of the match as they played 758 passes, as compared to Cagliari's 419. Out of those passes, the Old Lady maintained 91% accuracy as compared to the visitors' 84%. Ronaldo's team possessed the ball 65% of the time, which clearly showed how perfectly the home side executed its strategy.

In another match, Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his Serie A comeback after 2,794 days. He suited up for AC Milan against Sampdoria. The former Swedish international came on at the 55th minute after replacing Polish forward Krzysztof Piatek.

San Siro was filled with 60,000 spectators who were eager to watch Ibrahimovic's heroics. However, their wait went in vain as the match ended goalless. Milan is currently ranked 12th in this season's league with 22 points. The last time the 38-year-old represented AC Milan in 2011, they won the Serie A title.

After the match, Milan coach Stefano Pioli said, "Ibrahimovic's impact was absolutely positive. He immediately gave support. The team is still not used to this presence. At the end we could have looked for him more, his physical prowess gives us an extra solution."

Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus