Cristiano Ronaldo picked up yet another European Championship record as Portugal romped to a 3-0 win over Hungary, but the Juventus man came in for some heavy criticism.
It took almost 85 minutes for Portugal to break the deadlock as Raphael Guerreiro’s deflected shot found the back of the net to break the hearts of the 60,000-plus fans inside the Puskas Arena.
The flood gates proceeded to open after that though as Ronaldo let loose, confidently dispatching a penalty when Rafa was brought down by Willi Orban, before dribbling through the Hungary defence to score his second.
The brace means Ronaldo is now the top scorer in Euro’s history, surpassing France’s Michel Platini’s record of nine, that he was previously tied with.
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However, prior to Guerreiro’s opener, Ronaldo had been rather underwhelming in his first appearance at a record breaking fifth European Championships.
And midway through the second half, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward came in for particular criticism from Chris Sutton.
Ronaldo appeared to go down under minimal contact inside the penalty area, though the calls for a foul were fairly minimal.
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But that didn’t stop Sutton letting loose at the 36-year-old.
“Oh wow, that was absolutely pathetic Ronaldo. Come on!” Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
“What are you playing at? Dear me, he is better than that.”
Sutton’s criticisms of the favourites didn’t stop there though, insisting that Portugal had gotten away with one thanks to their late double, despite the stats suggesting they had been in control for most the game.
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“Hungary absolutely didn’t deserve this,” he said after Portugal took a commanding lead.
“It’s a deflected cross from Silva and Guerreiro, he doesn’t hit it good and it’s going straight for the keeper.
“It’s agonising for Hungary and Portugal look like they got out of jail here.”
Ronaldo moved to within just three goals of Iran legend Ali Daei’s record of 109 international goals, the most of any player at international level.
And Ronaldo’s former United team-mate Gary Neville said on ITV: “It’s an obscene record. I mean, 106 goals for his country is absolutely ridiculous. He just continues to beat individual record after individual record.
“I said before the game, when players give interviews quite often they refer to the team.
“He does refer to the team always, but he also wants to be the best player in the world and seen as one of the greatest of all time in terms of scoring more goals than anyone. And he’ll go and do it.”
