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‘Carrying the whole team on his shoulders’: Ronaldo brilliance inspires Portugal to tense win

20 Jun, 2018 15:47
‘Carrying the whole team on his shoulders’: Ronaldo brilliance inspires Portugal to tense win
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Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo © Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

An record-breaking early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo was enough to earn a narrow victory for Portugal and consign Morocco to an early end to the World Cup adventure.

Four minutes was all it took for Cristiano Ronaldo to become the all-time record goalscorer, breaking Ferenc Puskas’ 62-year-old record inside the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Following a blistering hat-trick in Portugal’s opening match against Spain, the Real Madrid marksman added his fourth of the tournament; his diving header escaping the clutches of Moroccan goalkeeper Mohamedi.

Morocco performed well throughout the rest of the contest and will consider themselves unfortunate to have not conjured a goal for themselves. But, as many would have expected, it was Ronaldo’s contribution which proved the most telling.

The Portuguese assassin is now the leading scorer at Russia 2018, in what is most likely his final tournament, though he still has some way to go to eclipse Just Fontaine’s 1958 record for 13 goals in a single tournament.

Below is a sample of the internet’s reaction to Ronaldo and a gutsy Moroccan performance.