Cristiano Ronaldo races to 135 international goals: Decoding his stats
Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo displayed his brilliance with a sensational bicycle kick that booked Portugal's spot in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. The sensational goal was a part of 5-1 thrashing of Poland in a crucial League A Group 1 affair. Ronaldo's acrobatic effort came in the dying minutes when Portugal were already leading by four goals. Earlier, Ronaldo converted a penalty in the 72nd-minute of the contest. He also made his presence felt with an assist.
Portugal's dominant 2nd-half performance
Portugal's win was highlighted by a rampant second-half, with all five goals coming in the period. The goal-fest started when Rafael Leao headed in the opener. After a penalty was awarded for a foul by Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior, Ronaldo coolly slotted the spot-kick down the middle, putting an end to Poland's hopes of a comeback.
Fernandes and Neto contribute to Portugal's victory
The third goal for Portugal was netted by Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, who delivered a powerful strike off the underside of the bar. Chelsea winger Pedro Neto added to Poland's woes with a strong shot inside the near post, following an impressive pass from Ronaldo that left the Polish defense scrambling. Dominik Marczuk managed a late consolation goal for Poland but it did little to dampen Portugal's celebrations.
Joint-highest scorer in this edition's Nations League
Ronaldo has raced to 5 goals from five matches in the ongoing edition of the Nations League. He is currently the joint-highest scorer alongside Benjamin Sesko of Slovenia.
Ronaldo gets to 135 international goals: Breaking down the numbers
In 54 friendly matches, Ronaldo owns 22 goals. He has 41 goals in 44 European Championship qualifying games. Ronaldo owns 14 goals at the Euros from 30 matches and 12 UEFA Nations League goals (16 matches). He has 36 goals in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers (47 matches) and another eight World Cup goals (22 matches). He owns two FIFA Confederations Cup goals (4 matches).
910 career goals for club and country
In addition to his 135 goals for Portugal, Ronaldo owns a total of 775 goals at club level, taking his tally to 910. Ronaldo managed 5 goals for Sporting before scoring 145 times for Manchester United across two spells. He smashed 450 goals for Real Madrid and 101 for Juventus. He owns 74 goals for Saudi Pro League club, Al-Nassr, including 10 this season.
