Portugal 5-0 Luxembourg: 5 talking points as Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick guides Selecao past hapless visitors | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

#3 Luxembourg toothless in attack

Luxembourg's best chance of the night fell to Rodrigues, whose effort was parried away.

While Portugal were both menacing and misfiring in attack, Luxembourg were simply toothless. With only two shots on target, Die Roten Löwen never seemed like getting anything from the game.

As the Selecao held most of the possession, the visitors looked to patiently work their way upfield by getting the ball to their talismanic striker Gerson Rodrigues.

Midfielder Christopher Martins stemmed most of their press. He made a few driving runs forward and switched the play out to full-back Mica Pinto in an attempt to break Portugal open.

However, that didn't fully come to fruition, as Portugal held firm. Nuno Mendes, Andre Silva and Joao Cancelo all made vital interceptions whenever the visitors threatened to get the ball to attacking areas.

In the 71st minute, the Red Lions found their best chance of the game. Rodrigues received a pass on the left, but he was left to finish it alone. He attempted a low drive from a tight angle which Patricio pushed wide. It was as close as Luxembourg got on the night.

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#2 Portugal are coming for Serbia

It will be intense, but Portugal could beat Serbia and win the group.

As mentioned before, Portugal still don't have Group A in the bag yet, as Serbia are currently leading the group with 17 points. But there's a caveat - the Balkan outfit have played a game more, and these sides are scheduled to play on the final qualifying day in mid-November.

The Selecao will be at home, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. But even then, their performance on the night was good enough to suggest they could seal an automatic qualification to Qatar at Serbia's expense.

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#1 Hat-trick hero Ronaldo knows no stopping

Records tumbled once again.

Cristiano Ronaldo's thirst for goals and records is simply unquenchable. Having already broken the men's international goalscoring record last month, he's now the all-time highest international hat-trick scorer too, with ten.

He opened his account for the night with two penalties in quick succession, the second of which he won himself. But a treble didn't seem to come, as the Manchester United star missed a few good chances on the night.

Midway through the second half, he even launched a spectacular overhead kick and directed it perfectly on target. But the Luxembourg custodian Moris produced a fine stop to parry it away for a corner.

It would've been some way to bring up his hat-trick. But after some more time, Ronaldo got it, heading the ball home from close range off a brilliant cross from substitute Ruben Neves.

In the process, he got his international tally to 115, six more than the previous record-holder, Ali Daei. With over a year still to go for what could be his Portugal swansong, Ronaldo has ample time to extend his record further.