Captain fantastic: Ronaldo celebrates after scoring for Portugal

Up went Messi to the other end and curled a free-kick that left Eduardo scrambling. Then up went Ronaldo's number.

The game, such as it was, had been curtailed. The Argentine, as if to emphasise his superiority, then curled in a freekick that was deflected against the bar. And in the last minute came the coup de grace.

Fabio Coentrao did not see Juan Martinez behind him and hacked away at his opponents' legs, a full second after he had played the ball through.

Messi took a four-step run-up, feinted and Eduardo fell away to his left, leaving the Barca man to sidefoot the ball in the opposite corner.

He ran away holding his hands to his ears, to silence the sizeable Portuguese contingent in the sell-out crowd. He didn't need to do that. He had made his point long before.

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