A Manchester United star has jumped to Cristiano Ronaldo's defence following Portugal's last-gasp win over the Czech Republic.
The Portugal captain seemed to be misfiring as he struggled to convert the opportunities that fell to him at the 2024 UEFA European Championship on Tuesday night. However, his side still managed to walk away with an important three points from their opening Group F clash.
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The match was goalless going into the half-time break, but the deadlock was eventually broken in the 62nd minute with a stunning strike from the Czechs' Lukas Provod.
Ronaldo's side were soon back on level terms, though, courtesy of an own goal by Robin Hranac just a few minutes later.
The game was then decided when 21-year-old Francisco Conceicao came off the bench to net the winning goal in stoppage time, giving Roberto Martínez just the start he would have been aiming for.
The former Real Madrid superstar, though, may have wanted the game to have gone a little differently, with some having since criticised his performance and questioned his ability to lead the line for his national side.
Among them was former England international Stuart Pearce, who said that Portugal's players do not trust him enough to pass to him.
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"This might sound ridiculous, but [maybe] they don't trust Ronaldo enough to keep supplying him with the ball, that type of thing," he said on a talkSPORT broadcast after the match.
"There's been times in the games where he's shown to feet and they've not popped the ball into his feet. There was one where Bernardo Silva, it was one of these rogue passes [by Czechia] that got cut out, Bernardo Silva had it in the centre circle. Ronaldo peeled off in an inside-right position. I'm thinking, if this was 10 years ago, you slide it in front of him and you know full well he's going to get there and score.
"He [Silva] denied the pass, and I found that quite strange."
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's former Manchester United teammate Diogo Dalot has made it clear he disagrees, and was full of praise for the 39-year-old after the tie against the Czechs.
"Cristiano Ronaldo was very focused, very physically fit and always ready to score goals," the fullback said while speaking to reporters after the game, per the Metro.
"I know everybody will always expect him to score goals. Sometimes he scores, a lot of times he scores! Today, he was very close.
"Obviously, you can see in the game that he played, how much he ran today.
"He helped us with and without the ball he was always moving, energetic, and that's the Cristiano that we want."
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Portugal's next encounter is scheduled to take place on Saturday, against a vibrant Turkish side who are fresh off a 3-1 victory over Georgia.
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