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Why Ronaldo was benched against Scotland?

Cristiano Ronaldo was benched as Portugal hosted Scotland in the UEFA Nations League in Lisbon, and manager Roberto Martinez explained the reason.

Record scorer Ronaldo came off the bench to score a late winner for Portugal to deny Scotland their first point of their Nations League Group A1 campaign after a 2-1 defeat in Lisbon.

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Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal in Thursday’s win over Croatia, was brought on at half-time at the Estadio da Luz with the home side trailing 1-0 after Scott McTominay’s shock seventh-minute header – Scotland’s only shot of the first half.

Ronaldo came off the bench to score the winner against Scotland

Scott McTominay gave the visitors a shock seventh-minute lead in Lisbon, as Ronaldo was forced to watch his former Man United teammate score early.

The former Nations League champions struggled to find an equalizer despite dominating the first half. However, Ronaldo was introduced after the break, and the game was overturned.

Bruno Fernandes equalized early in the second half before Ronaldo struck in the 88th minute to deny Scotland a point.

Portugal’s manager Martinez revealed why he benched Ronaldo

Benching a nation’s icon was a massive decision, and former Premier League boss Martinez understood that he had to provide an explanation.

After the hard-fought victory at home, Martinez revealed that benching Ronaldo was for his own good.

“Cristiano is in a good moment. It’s September, he’s played three games, he’s scored for his club. We need to protect all the players. Cristiano can’t play two 90-minute games in 72 hours.

“Today, the important thing was that if he needed to be on the pitch, it was to finish the game and not to start it. I really liked his commitment, he’s ready to do what the team needs and be decisive once again.””