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'Ronaldo is like a good port wine, he knows how to age best' – Portugal coach Santos
Portugal coach Fernando Santos says star man Cristiano Ronaldo is “like a port wine” and gets better with age, after the striker scored his fourth goal in two World Cup games as Portugal beat Morocco in Moscow.
When asked why Ronaldo’s four-goal return in Russia was already better than in his three previous World Cups, Santos first joked “he has a great coach,” before comparing the player to a vintage wine.
“Obviously he’s like a port wine, he knows how to age best, his physical prowess, his technique, he’s constantly evolving, he doesn’t want to do today what he did three of four years ago.”
Ronaldo powered home a header in the fourth minute against Morocco at Luzhniki to give Portugal their first World Cup win in Russia, following his hat-trick heroics in the team’s 3-3 draw with Spain in Sochi last week.
The goal was a landmark one for the Portugal no. 7, who became the leading all-time international scorer in Europe on 85 goals, one ahead of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas.
Ronaldo has previously said the country is “lucky for him,” having won the Champions League in Moscow with Manchester United in 2008.
The wine comparison from Santos seems apt, given Portugal’s history of stellar port-making, although this was far from a vintage performance from Santos’ team. But Portugal claimed the win, putting them top of Group B on four points, before Iran and Spain meet in Kazan.
READ MORE: ‘It was beautiful for me’ – Ronaldo on record-breaking goal & Portugal World Cup victory
For Morocco the defeat against Portugal meant they became the first team to officially be knocked out of Russia 2018, as they were left rock bottom of the group on zero points from their two games.