Cristiano Ronaldo's Hat-Trick Helps Real Madrid Beat Ajax [PHOTOS]

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to help Real Madrid beat Ajax Amsterdam 4 - 1 on Wednesday, ensuring a good start for the club in the UEFA Champions League 2012-13.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored three goals on Wednesday's match. He scored the first one in the 42nd minute after Karim Benzema's cross was deflected straight to him. The second goal came in the 79th minute from Benzema's pass again, and the third came off Sami Khedira's pass in the 81st minute.

[PHOTOS OF REAL MADRID VS AJAX]  

Benzema, who assisted Ronaldo in two of his goals, scored a goal in the 48th minute, sending Kaka's cross acrobatically into Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer's net. Niklas Moisander scored the lone goal for Ajax Amsterdam in the 56th minute.

Real Madrid has six points on the score table having beaten Manchester City 3 - 2 in the opening match of the UEFA Champions League group stage, while Ajax lost two matches played so far.

Ronaldo, who recently said that he was sad in Real Madrid, expressed his happiness on scoring a hat-trick on Wednesday.

"Scoring three goals is important for me and I am very happy," Ronaldo told Spanish television. "These collections are always very important for me but the most important thing is the team," he added.

The 27-year-old Portugal football captain, otherwise an energetic player, recently surprised many by not celebrating his two goals against Granada in their first La Liga win of the season. He said that he was sad in Real Madrid for professional reasons.

[PHOTOS OF REAL MADRID VS AJAX] 

(With Inputs from Reuters)