It wasn’t a good night for Cristiano Ronaldo at Hampden Park on Tuesday night. He was upset that the strong Scottish defense only gave up a point after the game ended in a 0-0 tie.
The Scots had not won a single game in the UEFA Nations League. They played Ronaldo and his team, who were in first place in Group A1 with three wins in a row.
Although the favorites were the favorites, Steve Clarke’s backline was impossible to break through. Portugal had 70% of the ball throughout the game.
But their star player, who was trying to score his 134th international goal, played so badly that it was hard to tell that he was the five-time Ballon d’Or winner or that he had played like that in the past.
When the 39-year-old was seen arguing with referee Lawrence Visser, he got the usual fake boos, and he was clearly angry the whole time.
His performance was summed up by a bicycle try in the first half. His overhead kick goal against Juventus is one of the most famous goals of all time, but this one went wide instead of scoring Portugal’s 134th goal in spectacular style.
Ronaldo had four shots on goal, but only one went in. He had a header from inside the box that went wide and a sliced effort late in the game that missed the mark. He will be eager to forget about that game.
Ronaldo was mad when the game was over because he wasn’t allowed to take a corner kick even though there were four extra minutes left. Before he stormed off the field, he yelled at the umpire and gave the home fans two thumbs down.
But he wasn’t the only Portugal star who didn’t seem happy with how the game was officiated that night.
“Refereeing?” It would be honest for me to say that…,” Joao Palhinha of Bayern Munich said after the game.
“I don’t want to mince words; it’s better to be quiet.” Half a word is enough for people who get it. That’s not why we lost the game, though. It’s important to note that we are still in first place, and I hope we can keep this up.
We thought we could have won this game, even though it’s always tough to play in Scotland.
In the game, it was clear that we were the best. We were due more than a tie. But I want to talk about the work we’ve been doing. We are still in first place, and we hope to qualify in the next two games, which will be tough.
Earlier in the game, there was a problem with a fan who got on the field illegally and seemed to want to take a picture with Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is used to people coming onto the field to take selfies with him, but this time at Hampden Park, the guards stopped the person before they got to the forward.
There were also chances for the home team, but they turned the ball over too many times. For example, Scott McTominay almost scored with a shot before the game even started.
Ben Doak passed the ball back to Andy Robertson. The captain sent a perfect cross to an open McTominay, but the defender hit it straight at Diogo Costa in goal.
In the last few minutes, Scotland’s goalkeeper Craig Gordon made a number of great saves against a Portugal team that was on the attack.
The crowd at Hampden Park went crazy when Gordon dove to block Bruno Fernandes’ shot and then caught the ball before Ronaldo could get to it.
“We’re not turning a corner,” Scotland manager Steve Clarke told the press. “All we have to do is work hard and not let the country down.” That’s something you could see tonight.