Sweden 0-2 Portugal: Ronaldo passes 100 as holders win

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st international goals as Portugal won again.

Match in brief

It's two wins in two for the UEFA Nations League holders after their talisman's double helped down Sweden in Solna. The home side missed a glorious early chance when Marcus Berg headed wide from close range, and were left facing an uphill battle once Gustav Svensson was sent off for a second bookable offence.

It was a double whammy for the Swedes as Ronaldo rocketed in the resulting free-kick to bring up a century of goals for his country. Bruno Fernandes then hit the crossbar, before Ronaldo made it 101 with another sublime finish from the edge of the area.

Ronaldo hits his second of the night in SolnaAFP via Getty Images

Reporters' views

Sujay Dutt, Sweden reporter: Sweden fielded a less experienced but more attack-minded team than against France on Saturday. They could have scored early on but then suffered a double blow with the red card followed by the thumping Ronaldo free-kick. With only ten Swedes on the pitch, Portugal could control proceedings in the second half and Ronaldo added another. Tough on Sweden who will wonder what might have been but for that red card.

Carlos Machado, Portugal reporter: A deserved win for Portugal against a tough side in a match where Ronaldo showed how vital he still is for his country. When the visitors needed something from the game, he delivered two wonderful goals as the holders managed to break a resilient opponent.

Reaction

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal forward: "I am very happy with this win which enabled us to keep going on this path, and of course this milestone of 100 and then 101 with two great goals makes me very happy. I managed get 100 goals and now for the record [109]. It's step by step. I am not obsessed because I believe the records come in a natural way."

Pontus Jansson, Sweden defender: "We stood up really well until the red card and then two lovely goals from Ronaldo, one of the best players in the world. But over the 180 minutes this week, there are a lot of things to take with us. But of course the results weren’t good enough."

Key stats

• Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st international goals on his 165th appearance for his country.
• His opening strike here was his tenth free-kick goal for Portugal.
• Ronaldo has now scored seven goals against Sweden – putting them level with Lithuania as his most favoured opponent.
• Ronaldo has notched an international goal every year since 2004.
  
• Pepe has become Portugal's joint-fifth most capped player, drawing level with Fernando Couto on 110.
  

Line-ups

Sweden: Olsen; Krafth, Jansson, Helander, Augstinsson; Kulusevski (Ekdal 90), Svensson, Olsson, Forsberg (Svanberg 79); Berg, Isak (Quaison 71)

Portugal: Lopes, João Cancelo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Guerreiro; João Moutinho (Rúben Neves 73), Danilo, Bruno Fernandes; Bernardo Silva (Gonçalo Guedes 22), João Félix, Ronaldo (Diogo Jota 81)

Next up

Group A3 continues next month, with France vs Portugal and Croatia vs Sweden on Sunday 11 October.