Ronaldo has been the undoubted star of the first week of this tournament and he ensured he will stay in the headlines with another decisive contribution. He was the centre of attention from the moment his image flashed up on the huge screens, cheered by the Portugal fans and others who had travelled to Moscow solely to watch him – and jeered by the Morocco fans.
The 33-year-old’s performance was not as spectacular as the one he produced about Spain, but he again showed why his team rely upon him so heavily. Of Portugal’s eight shots, he had six of them – including the one that mattered the most.
Ronaldo’s other contributions, other than the flicked pass that released Goncalo Guedes to force a fine stop from Munir Mohamedi, were more fitful, but the intelligence of his movement and sheer presence up front meant he remained a threat. There were no more magic moments, however, to the disappointment of the thousands in the crowd who recorded his two free-kicks from the edge of the area with their smartphones, only to see him smash them into Morocco’s defensive wall.
Portugal offered little else in the way of a threat, and defensively the number of problems Morocco caused them must be a concern for their coach Fernando Santos, with bigger tests likely ahead. But Ronaldo’s Russian roadshow rolls into Saransk on Monday, and shows no sign of stopping.