Portugal's round of 16 game against Slovenia quickly turned into 'The Cristiano Ronaldo Show' but not in the way the five-time Ballon d'Or would have liked. The 39-year-old happily adopted the the role of the game's central protagonist on Monday night, a narrative amplified by commentators, pundits and social media users. Ronaldo let fly with a whopping eight shots in a barrage that included a succession of direct free-kick attempts of varying quality, accompanied by increasingly dramatic facial expressions.
Matjaz Kek's side defended resolutely but their resistance appeared to be at an end in extra time when Diogo Jota (£4.5m) won a penalty. Ronaldo stepped up and it appeared for all the world that his one-man play would end happily.
But Jan Oblak (£3m) had other ideas. The Atletico Madrid stalwart saved the spot-kick, an act that brought Ronaldo to tears on the pitch in a dramatic scene - the BBC's decision to dub him 'Misstiano Penaldo' prompted plenty of backlash . However, there was another twist still to come.
Slovenia held firm and took Portugal to a shootout but quickly discovered that Diogo Costa (£4m) was in no mood for fairy tales. The Porto goalkeeper saved all three spot-kicks he faced to send Roberto Martinez's side through to the quarter-finals. And of course, Ronaldo scored his penalty in the shootout; a precise finish into the bottom corner well out of Oblak's reach.
Portugal will now meet France in the last eight where Real Madrid's all-time top scorer wi.
