Cristiano Ronaldo was in no mood to discuss Lione Messi’s record breaking World Cup escapades after he finally put his mark on the tournament with two goals against Uzbekistan.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United superstar answered his critics emphatically, rolling back the years with a first-half brace to help Portugal bounce back having been held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by DR Congo last week.
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez had been under mounting pressure to axe the 41-year-old whose run without a goal at a major tournament stood at 10 games after struggling in the Group K opener.
Martinez’s faith in his talisman was, however, instantly vindicated with a Ronaldo brace that paved the way to a comfortable 5-0 victory.
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The Al-Nass’s striker’s form was perfectly timed, especially given the escapades of his long-time rival Messi who, 24 hours earlier, became the most prolific goalscorer in World Cup history, overtaking Germany’s Miroslav Klose with two goals against Austria to follow-up his hat-trick in the win over Algeria.
Asked for a response to Messi etching his name further into the record books, Ronaldo could muster only a petulance response, turning his back on a reporter before wagging his finger and asking ‘next question’.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, felt the performance against the World Cup debutants was the ‘silver lining’ the team needed after all their recent criticism.
He said: ‘I’m very happy but, for me, the most important thing is our work and the confidence we showed.
‘The team performed really well and improved a lot. As the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining.
‘Obviously personal records are always nice but my goal is always to help the team achieve its objectives.”
Martinez added on fifa.com ‘There are times when you need a game like the first one in order to grow in the tournament.
‘Today we saw a team with the same attitude and commitment, but with greater maturity because it was no longer the opening match.’