Ronaldo furious as he is denied a late winner for Portugal in Serbia

Cristiano Ronaldo left FURIOUS as he is denied a late winner for Portugal in Serbia, despite the ball CLEARLY going over the line as hosts cancel out brace from Liverpool’s Diogo Jota to earn a 2-2 draw in Belgrade thriller

  • Portugal and Serbia played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in Belgrade on Saturday night
  • Cristiano Ronaldo almost hit winner but officials said it had not crossed the line
  • Replays showed his effort was well over the line but Serbia held on for a point
  • Liverpool star Diogo Jota netted a first-half brace before hosts turned it around 

Cristiano Ronaldo was left furious on Saturday night after being denied what appeared to be a clear goal and late winner in Portugal’s 2-2 draw with Serbia.

The Juventus star thought he had snatched three points in Belgrade when he pounced on a loose ball inside the penalty area and stabbed an effort towards goal.

Serbia defender Stefan Mitrovic raced to clear on the goal line and hacked the ball away, leaving the officials to declare it had not gone over the line and to continue playing.

But replays showed the ball had clearly gone over the line and Ronaldo was left furious. With no Video Assistant Referee in use in the game, he pleaded with the on-field officials before storming off the pitch at full time in disgust.

Cristiano Ronaldo was left furious after being denied what looked like a clear goal in Serbia

Ronaldo beat Serbia keeper Marko Dmitrovic to a long ball and side-footed it towards goal

Ronaldo hit an effort towards goal and it looked in, but the officials said it had not gone over

With no VAR, Ronaldo was furious at the full-time whistle as Portugal had to settle for a point

It was an explosive ending to a thrilling World Cup qualifier as Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic became his country’s all-time top scorer on 39 goals from 63 international appearances.

The Fulham forward netted his side’s first goal in a 2-2 home draw as the Serbians fought back from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils.

Mitrovic pulled one back in the 46th minute and Filip Kostic levelled after a brace from Liverpool forward Diogo Jota had given Portugal a 2-0 lead in the first half.

Liverpool forward Jota fired the European champions ahead with an 11th-minute header from a superb Bernardo Silva assist and added another in the 36th as he glanced a Cedric Soares cross from the right. 

But Serbia roared back at their Rajko Mitic stadium and halftime substitute Nemanja Radonjic, who engineered both their goals, gave his markers a roasting after the break and also drew a fine save from Portugal goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota celebrates scoring his opening goal during a fine first half

Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic became his country’s all-time top scorer on 39 goals

Mitrovic pulled one back in the 46th minute and Filip Kostic (left) levelled for the home team

Serbia defender Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in stoppage time, having been shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on an opponent.

Ronaldo then had a seemingly good goal denied seconds later.

Ronaldo beat Serbia keeper Marko Dmitrovic to a long ball and side-footed it towards goal only for Stefan Mitrovic to clear it but television replays suggested it had crossed the line.

The result left both sides on four points from two games as Serbia edged Ireland 3-2 at home in their opening game on Wednesday while Portugal eked out a 1-0 win over Azerbaijan.

The outcome also made for a bittersweet milestone for Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who reached a rare milestone of 1,000 games as head coach at club and international level combined in his 33-year long career in the dugout.




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