World Cup 2018: Portugal 1 Morocco 0 – Cristiano Ronaldo strikes again to boost golden boot chances
Ronaldo took just four minutes to add to his hat-trick against Spain to move clear as leading scorer as Morocco's Russia 2018 hopes ended in Moscow
CRISTIANO RONALDO proved he is Hungary to make more history by surpassing Ferenc Puskas’s 62-year record to become the greatest European goalscorer of all time.
The Real Madrid megastar picked up where he left off in his hat-trick hero display against Spain by netting the winner here after just four minutes.
His early header took him to 85 international goals - one clear of Magyar legend Puskas - and second on the world list behind Iran’s Ali Daei.
And you can guarantee Daei’s ridiculous record of 109 will be in the sights of Ronaldo, who is scaling new outrageous heights of performance even at the age of 33.
The former Manchester United forward was sporting a goatee for the first time, following his curious chin-stroking celebration against Spain.
The reasoning behind the new look is unknown with social media speculators left theorising that it is a nod to Ronaldo being ‘the GOAT’ - greatest of all time.
He was certainly Portugal’s hair-o here once again as Morocco, who impressed with their slick football, paid for some slack marking.
Ronaldo got the better of former Portuguese youth player Manuel Da Costa on four minutes to power home Joao Moutinho’s cross after Bernardo Silva’s short-corner.
The costly mistake means the North Africans have no chance of making it through the group stages after the last-gasp defeat to Iran in their group opener.
It was deeply frustrating for boss Herve Renard, who has gathered admirers for his dashing looks that have drawn comparisons to Game of Thrones heart-throb Jaime Lannister.
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Because the former Cambridge chief’s side were more than a match for Portugal and looked just as stylish as their suave manager.
But it was over before it really got going thanks to Ronaldo’s bullet header from the six-yard box.
There was no chin-stroking celebration this time though as the Madrid man performed his trademark jump-and-spin routine to mark his fourth goal of the tournament.
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Morocco had chances from their own set-pieces with Juventus hardman Mehdi Benatia - who kicked Ronaldo all game - heading straight at Rui Patricio.
Renard and his players were screaming for a penalty - or at least a VAR review - when Noureddine Amrabat went down under Raphael’s challenge but Yankee ref Mark Geiger refused.
Keeper Patricio has just joined Wolves and fans of the Premier League new-boys will have loved what they saw from the 30-year-old when he brilliantly pushed a close-range header from Younes Belhanda up and away near the hour mark.
Renard’s men pushed and pushed but there was to be no repeat for Morocco’s 3-1 win over Portugal at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico - these nations’ only previous meeting.
Bearded Ronaldo walked off after yet another match-winning performance, knowing he had officially become the GOAT - at least in Europe.