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Cristiano Ronaldo has again produced “that” performance following his return to the Portuguese national team. The 34-year-old took a break from international football after Portugal’s round of 16 exit in last year’s FIFA World Cup.
However, on Wednesday night he delivered yet another memorable performance for his country, scoring a sensational hat-trick against Switzerland to send Portugal to the final of the UEFA Nations League.
Ronaldo had struggled in the first two games after his return, drawing blanks in Portugal’s Euro 2020 qualification matches against Serbia and Ukraine, but the 34-year-old was in beast mode during his country’s 3-1 win over Switzerland.
The Juventus star opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a well-taken free-kick. Having seen his set piece prowess questioned in recent years, Ronaldo rolled back the years to score one of the most intelligent free-kicks one would ever see.
And following an equaliser from Ricardo Rodriguez, the former Real Madrid forward added two late goals to win the game for Portugal. First, he struck a low shot into left corner following an inch-perfect cross from Bernardo Silva, before dummying Swiss right-back Akanji to slot home his third goal on the night.
It was a typical Ronaldo performance, punctuated by goals. Interestingly, the Portuguese also produced other highlights during the game by demonstrating his skilful side.
At one point, he got the fans cheering as he bamboozled Mbabu and turned the defender inside out, before releasing a cross from his left foot.
But in all, the best reactions to Ronaldo’s performance can be found on social media. Just moments after the game, many football fans flooded Twitter to eulogise the Portuguese and to congratulate him on his latest feat. Portugal will now play either England or Netherlands in the Nations League final.
Below are some of the best tweets:
