Cristiano Ronaldo found himself upstaged by Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema and former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba on Saturd...
Cristiano Ronaldo found himself upstaged by Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema and former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba on Saturday night as France beat Portugal 2-1 in their international friendly.
Ronaldo, sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his left knee after being substituted on 76 minutes, could do little to turn Portugal's fortunes around at the Stade de France after the hosts took a third-minute lead through Benzema before Pogba doubled their advantage in the second half.
Portugal substitute Ricardo Quaresma set up a tense finale by slotting home a penalty for the visitors, but France held on to their slender advantage.
France wasted no time in dominating the visitors from the offset.
A low cross from the left by Antoine Griezmann found Bacary Sagna in space towards the back post, and the Manchester City defender forced goalkeeper Rui Patricio to palm his shot away.
It did little good as the rebound fell to Benzema who, with the goal gaping, tapped the ball in to make it 1-0 with just three minutes on the clock.
Replays on the big screen showed Ronaldo turning away, looking frustrated to relinquish a lead so early in the international friendly.
The former Manchester United star tried to trick his way beyond France's back line but his step-overs accomplished little during a less-than-convincing for the men in white.
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