Ronaldo scores as Portugal beat Luxembourg 3-1: Records broken
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal in this World Cup qualifying campaign as Portugal claimed a victory against Luxembourg on Tuesday. Portugal, who conceded an early goal, came from behind to beat Luxembourg 3-1 eventually. The victory lifted Portugal to the top of Group A on seven points, while Luxembourg are third with three points. Here are the records broken.
How did the match pan out?
Gerson Rodrigues gave Luxembourg an early lead when he scored in the 30th minute. For Portugal, Diogo Jota scored the equalizer at the end of the first half. Five minutes later, Ronaldo brought back Portugal, firing into the far bottom corner. Meanwhile, substitute Joao Palhinha put Portugal further ahead in the 80th minute by heading home a corner.
Ronaldo continues his his goal-scoring streak
As has been the case, Ronaldo's strike played a key role as Portugal staged a comeback. Interestingly, the Portugese legend has scored for the nation in every calendar year since his first international goal in 2004 Ronaldo, who now owns 103 goals for Portugal, is only seven goals away (Ali Daei: 109) from being the top-scorer in men's international football.
A look at the other feats Ronaldo attained
It is interesting to note that Ronaldo scored his first 52 goals in 118 games, while he took only 55 games to score his next 51. Also, 10 of Ronaldo's last 14 international goals have come against Lithuania and Luxembourg.
We spent the entire first with no intensity: Fernando Santos
Despite the win, Portugal coach Fernando Santos was critical of how his side started the game. "We spent the first half an hour playing at walking pace, with no intensity in either end of the pitch. I had to tell the players that we wouldn't win the game on quality alone and had to add intensity to our play," he said after the game.
