Portugal needed a positive result away at Lithuania on Tuesday night, and their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo gave them an early lead.
Fernando Santos and his side started the night eight points behind Group B leaders Ukraine, albeit they had two games in hand to close the gap.
Nevertheless, if they have ambitions of topping their Euro 2020 qualifying group, they can ill-afford to drop any more points in the campaign.
In turn, it was crucial that they got off to a positive start against Lithuania, and it was that man again who stepped up and delivered with Ronaldo scoring from the penalty spot.
As seen in the video below, the Juventus superstar kept his cool and composure and produced an excellent spot-kick to send the goalkeeper the wrong way, and he’ll be delighted to add to his tally for Portugal in what is a crucial game for them.
That was a significant goal for the 34-year-old too, as per the graphic below, as that took his international goal haul up to 90, which is another staggering tally in what has been a glittering career thus far.
Cristiano Ronaldo has given Portugal the lead against Lithuania from the spot!
Watch ?? 0-1 ?? on Sky Sports Premier League or follow here: https://t.co/ZqnwjDU06x pic.twitter.com/R9Nn5CnZ3H
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 10, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo is the first European player to score 90 international goals ? pic.twitter.com/AGtDpKFZ7h
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 10, 2019