Love him loathe him, there is no denying Cristiano Ronaldo delivers when it matters most.
Just over five weeks after he struck the decisive penalty shoot-out kick to win the Champions League final for Real Madrid against city rivals Atletico, Ronaldo scored one goal and created another to send Portugal into the Euro 2016 final with a 2-0 victory over Wales.
The game had been billed as the “Battle of the Galacticos” with Ronaldo up against his Welsh Real Madrid team mate Gareth Bale.
The close focus on the pair was not only because Real had spent more to bring Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 than they had to sign Ronaldo from Manchester United four years earlier and not just due to the constant speculation that the two are not exactly close friends.
Both Ronaldo and Bale are more than just key players for their national sides — they are the fulcrum of everything they try to do in their attacking play, the source for goal-scoring and goal-creation. Without them, and neither team would have probably reached the last four of this competition.
The unified, and entirely predictable, message from both camps before the game was that the encounter in the Stade de Lyon would be about “eleven v eleven” and not “Ronaldo v Bale”.
But that did not stop the world’s focus being on the two players and which one would shine the most.
The answer, after 90 minutes, was pretty clear.
Ronaldo scored his country’s opening goal in the 50th minute with a superb header and three minutes later it was his low shot which was turned in by Nani to make it 2-0 and leave Wales with too much to do.
Bale had done more work, had more shots on target and been more of a threat in the opening half — he fired over the bar after a smartly-worked corner and got to the byline where his dangerous, low cross was not far away from Andy King, sliding in at the near post.

SPRINTED DEEP
The best moment from Bale came when, wide inside his own half, he lured Danilo into an ill-advised challenge, floated past him and then sprinted deep into Portuguese territory before unleashing a low drive that was, however, too close to keeper Rui Patricio.
But it was Ronaldo who delivered the killer blows.
After the two goals, Bale began to drift deeper, searching for the ball from his defenders as he tried to be the playmaker as well as the attacking threat.
Without the sorely missed suspended midfielder Aaron Ramsey’s creative touch and incisive running, which King could not replicate, Bale really had too much to produce.
While he never stopped trying to deliver it, he was reduced to speculative long-range efforts in the latter stages which barely troubled Patricio.
Ronaldo, in contrast, played in front of a well-organised Portuguese midfield and was free to roam the front-line with his partner Nani another threat to keep the Welsh defence alert.
And that was, ultimately, what allowed Ronaldo to do what he does best — be a danger in and around the penalty area.
Now the inevitable Ronaldo narrative will turn to the man who he is so often compared with — Lionel Messi.
The Barcelona striker, like Ronaldo, has famously failed to win a trophy with his country, his latest failure coming last month in the Copa America.
Expect it to be denied, but make no mistake, Ronaldo would love nothing more than to get one up on Messi.
“The team did a marvellous job to reach the final. I hope on Sunday you’ll see me crying with joy,” said Ronaldo, who as a 19-year-old wept on the pitch after Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece as hosts of the Euro 2004 final.
“I have always dreamed of winning for Portugal — I hope it is our time now.
“I am very confident. I deserve it, Portugal deserves it, all the Portuguese people deserve it.”

Ronaldo’s nine Euro goals
Portugal 1 Greece 2, Euro ’04
Ronaldo’s first Portugal goal came in ignominious circumstances as he headed home a corner deep into injury time as Portugal’s start to Euro 2004 on home soil got off to the worst possible start with a shock 2-1 defeat to eventual champions Greece.

Portugal 2 Netherlands 1, Euro ’04
A second, almost carbon copy, header from a Deco corner followed to spark scenes of joy on Ronaldo’s return to Lisbon’s Jose Alvalade — where he started his career with Sporting Lisbon — with the opening goal as Portugal reached their first ever major final.
 
Portugal 3 Czech Republic 1, Euro ’08
Ronaldo was expected to shine in Austria and Switzerland fresh from winning the Champions League with Manchester United. However, his solitary goal at Euro 2008 came when he swept home from the edge of the box to ensure Portugal finished top of Group A with a 3-1 win over the Czechs in Geneva.
 
Portugal 2 Netherlands 1, Euro ’12
Fresh from a 60-goal season with Real Madrid, Ronaldo was kept quiet during Portugal’s opening two group games against Germany and Denmark, but came to life with Portugal facing an early exit to fire home an equaliser in Kharkiv.
 
Portugal 2 Netherlands 1, Euro ’12
And he sent the Dutch home with three defeats from three matches by sweeping home at the end of a flowing counter-attack 16 minutes from time to ensure Portugal’s place in the last eight.
 
Portugal 1 Czech Republic 0, Euro ’12
The Czechs resisted Ronaldo’s constant threat for 79 minutes at Warsaw’s national stadium, but eventually the three-time World Player of the Year bullied his way past the defence to head home Joao Moutinho’s cross.
 
Portugal 3 Hungary 3, Euro ’16
Similarly to 2012, Ronaldo endured a nightmare start when he was shut out by Iceland and then missed a penalty against Austria as Portugal started with back-to-back draws in France. However, Ronaldo ensured third-place was enough to book their place in the last 16 as he beautifully back-heeled into the far corner to become the first ever player to score in four editions of the Euros.
 
Portugal 3 Hungary 3, Euro ’16
Only 12 minutes had passed before Ronaldo notched his second of Euro 2016 with a bullet header as Portugal equalised for the third time in the game.
 
Portugal 2 Wales 0, Euro ’16
Billed as a battle between Ronaldo and Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale, it was the former who came out on top in the semi-final in Lyon. His bullet header from Raphael Guerreiro’s cross broke the deadlock early in the second half before his shot teed up Nani for Portugal’s second that took them into the final.