Cristiano Ronaldo breaks Scotland hearts but reputations salvaged - maybe Steve Clarke knows best after all

Scotland meet Cristiano. Cristiano meet Scotland. The inevitable happened on a night when the phenomenon known as Ronaldo played against the unlucky old Scots for the first time.

A half-time substitute, the 39-year-old augmented his own legend by scoring the winning goal with two minutes left of normal time. As for Scotland, they reacquainted themselves with heart-breaking failure at the death. What, it's at least four days since the last time they suffered a similar ordeal.

There were chaotic scenes near the end. As well as the late winning goal, a pitch intruder ran on to try and get a selfie with Ronaldo. Scotland had taken their time getting here. Now they just wanted to get home. What a sickener.

One Scottish team is said to have died here - Andy Roxburgh's after a 5-0 defeat in 1993. Another one so nearly managed to come and make their point. 

Steve Clarke's side might have failed to hold on but there was much to applaud, including brave performances in the centre of defence from Grant Hanley, the fall guy on Thursday against Poland, and Scott McKenna.  

A mishit shot from Bruno Fernandes that Angus Gunn will be furious he let squirm into the net looked like being all Portugal would have to show for a night when they peppered the Scotland goal with shots. 

While the finger will be pointed at the goalkeeper for failing to deal with this effort, Gunn, whose place many felt should be in jeopardy, excelled otherwise. A brilliant save from substitute Joao Felix kept the score level. Moments afterwards he showed great agility to leap and prevent the same player nodding into the net after Ronaldo’s header had bashed off the far post. Maybe it wasn’t going to be Ronaldo’s night after all? Hah.

The visitors took the lead with a header from Scott McTominay after just seven minutes. Consider the Stadium of Light silenced. The Manchester United midfielder wheeled away and nearly everyone expected an offside call to halt the celebrations. It never came.

The midfielder’s run was timed to perfection. Manchester City defender Ruben Dias was slow to come out. The locals might have been perplexed about how this could come about but it was nothing to the Scots’ surprise. A throng celebrated in the gods of this impressive football arena. Scotland's first goal in Lisbon since Paul Sturrock scored in 1981, they now had something to hold on to.  

Just another 83 minutes to go. Plus the inevitable lengthy period of injury time, when Scotland have conceded significant goals in their previous two outings.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores an 87th minute winner for Portugal in the Nations League match against Scotland at Luz stadium in Lisbon. (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images

Defenders stood tall. Gunn made a couple of good blocks. One, low down to his right, stopped a shot from the impressive Rafael Leao creeping in. Another, from a Diogo Jota header, was up there with his best for Scotland.

The Scottish players seemed intent on salvaging reputations. Their own and Clarke’s. It was the kind of disciplined, measured and - let's not beat around the bush - at times bloody fortunate performance that had been required in the Munich Arena on that opening night debacle against Germany this summer. This was a similarly intimidating environment, but Scotland held their nerve. When mistakes came, the players covered for one another. When they lost the ball, they tracked back.

"We go again," is what Clarke was effectively saying when his starting XI was published to almost universal condemnation. It was the same as against Poland. 

Almost no one else other than the eleven players involved agreed with the manager’s selection and even some of them might not have expected to start again, particularly given the tight turn around after Thursday's physically and mentally punishing defeat to Poland. Maybe Clarke does know best after all.

Scott McTominay celebrates after heading Scotland in front against Portugal. (Photo by Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Things got off to an ominous start. Scotland kicked off. Billy Gilmour played the ball back to McKenna and the big defender….shanked his clearance. A long night loomed.

But then Scotland won a corner after four minutes. Good work from John McGinn. Maybe it wasn’t going to be the same old story – or, at least, the same old story of late. Maybe Scotland were going to rise to the occasion.

McTominay certainly did that. Robertson fed the ball back to Kenny McLean, who curled a delicious ball towards the back post. Dias and his defensive teammates stepped out. McTominay stepped in. His run was perfectly timed and he had the composure to guide a header beyond Diogo Costa. It’s now 11 goals in 54 appearances – and ten in his last 16 games.  

No one can claim Scotland didn’t live dangerously afterwards. Leao was testing Anthony Ralston on Portugal’s left. The Celtic defender has one of the most surreal existences of any footballer at present. He performs exclusively on the international stage when many, perhaps even himself, would question whether he is even an international level player. One moment underlined his naivety on this stage. Having left something on Fernandes, he went to apologise to the player and left a huge gap down the left which Portugal sought to take advantage of with a quickly taken free-kick. Fortunately for Scotland, it came to nothing.

Ronaldo had never scored against a Scottish team. Well, he can’t score while sitting on the bench. The superstar forward was one of four changes made by Roberto Martinez following Portugal’s 2-1 win over Croatia. That was the worry, that he would come on and turn the game. Writing his own headlines, the way he tends to do.

He did come on at half-time and while he did not have a part to play in the first goal, his presence seemed enough to spook Scotland. They lived dangerously and had reason to feel grateful for Ronaldo’s greediness when he shot when he should have crossed. But there was a sense of something coming, of a dam needing to break. It finally did ten minutes after half time. 

Although Portugal were clearly deserving of a goal, the fact it came from a scruffily connected shot from Fernandes that squirmed into the corner of the net after Gunn was slow to read its trajectory meant there was huge frustration in the visitors’ ranks. The ‘keeper did redeem himself however, and there was little he could do when a bad bounce saw Nuno Mendes’ cross evade him. Ronaldo was on hand to sweep into the net. Of course he was.