CRISTIANO RONALDO blew his first chance to become the all-time top international goalscorer against the Republic of Ireland.
But the Portuguese superstar had the last laugh as he scored TWO incredible late headers to turn the game on its head and etch his name into the record books.
It was from the spot where the Manchester United forward hoped to hit his 110th Portugal strike – a tally never seen at this level.
A mistake from Jeff Hendrick conceded the spot-kick to Bruno Fernandes nine minutes into Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier.
And Ronaldo grabbed the ball before an agonising wait for VAR to confirm the foul at Estadio Algarve.
But the striker was beaten by Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu in just his fifth cap for Ireland.
The Portsmouth loanee, 19, dived to his right to strongly parry the shot away.
As time ticked on it looked like Ronaldo would have to wait longer to finally beat the international tally of Iran legend Ali Daei.
Daei notched an incredible 109 goals in 140 appearances for Iran, before retiring from the game in 2006.
It was already been a memorable few weeks for Ronaldo.
At Euro 2020, he became the first man to play at five different Euros, the oldest player to net for Portugal at a major tournament, and the competition’s all-time top scorer.
The superstar then completed a return to Manchester United after over a decade away from Old Trafford.
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The striker then finally managed to break Daei”s record with an incredible 89th-minute header that finally beat Bazunu and took his tally to 110.
And he wasn’t done there.
Seven minutes later Ronaldo was at it again, powering in another brilliant header to earn all three points and write his name in the history books.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
