Under the watchful eye of the "substitute Ronaldo": Portugal inflict an exceptional defeat on Norway

Ronaldo did not play at all.

Portugal made it two wins from two in the UEFA Nations League, beating hosts Norway 2-1 in a match Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the bench.

Jorge Jesus went with an attacking side led by Gonçalo Ramos and João Félix, leaving Ronaldo out of the starting eleven. Norway leaned on their goalscorer Erling Haaland, alongside Sørloth and Nusa.

The hosts started brightly, but Portugal struck first on 17 minutes. Neto floated in a cross, João Félix pounced on it and drilled the ball accurately into the net to give his country the lead.

Norway hit back at the start of the second half. Haaland punished an error from goalkeeper Diogo Costa in dealing with a Martin Ødegaard free-kick, rolling the ball into the empty net on 51 minutes.

The equaliser lasted just three minutes. Gonçalo Ramos restored Portugal's lead by seizing on a glaring mistake from goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland, racing through on goal and lifting the ball over him superbly for the visitors' second.

Jesus then introduced Rafael Leão and Vitinha to protect the advantage, and Portugal saw out a 2-1 win to keep their strong start to the group going.

This defeat is a rare one. Norway's last loss on home soil before facing Portugal came against Spain, 1-0, on 15 October 2023 in qualifying for Euro 2024.

Since that day, Norway had gone unbeaten at their stadium in the capital Oslo across 15 straight matches, winning 11 and drawing 4, before Portugal ended the run.