Cristiano Ronaldo ‘trick’ sends Portugal to Nations League final

TIL Desk Sports/ Evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, including two late goals, to give Portugal a 3-1 win over Switzerland in a Nations League semi-final featuring an extraordinary VAR incident on Wednesday. Ronaldo blasted Portugal ahead from a free-kick in the 25th minute, his first goal for his country for nearly a year, but the Swiss equalised with a penalty after half-time which will raise more questions over the use of the VAR system.

After a largely anonymous second half, Ronaldo suddenly sprang to life by scoring twice in the last three minutes to complete the 53rd hat-trick of his career and the seventh for his country, showing that even at 34 he is always a threat. His goals — his first for his country since last year’s World Cup in Russia – rescued Portugal after the Swiss had dominated for the final half hour and threatened to snatch a shock win.

“There’s no adjective to describe him,” said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. “He’s a genius. You can be a genius in art, and in sculpture and he is a football genius.” “It was an intense match, very hard-fought, against a very well-organised Swiss team,” he added. Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic was left to rue a missed opportunity. “We had the chance to get a second but didn’t take it. We got outnumbered at the back and conceded. Their top player made the difference,” he said.