Erling Haaland scored his 65th international goal but Ruben Dias took the points as the Manchester City pair went head-to-head in the Nations League on Sunday night.
Portugal beat Norway 2-1 in Oslo, with Haaland cancelling out Joao Felix’s first-half opener before Goncalo Ramos quickly restored the visitors’ advantage.
For Man City, it provided an intriguing international subplot as their leading striker spent the evening trying to find a way past a defence featuring one of his club captains.
Dias denies Haaland before Norway equaliser
Portugal went ahead after 17 minutes when Felix finished a move involving Pedro Neto, but Haaland had several opportunities to equalise before half-time.
One brought him into direct confrontation with Dias. Diogo Costa could only parry a cross into Haaland’s path after 24 minutes, but the centre-back blocked his City teammate’s attempt.
Costa then denied Haaland twice more before the interval, with City’s official match report detailing a frustrating opening half for the Norway captain.
Haaland eventually got his goal six minutes after the restart. Martin Odegaard’s free-kick was parried before Patrick Berg knocked the loose ball into the striker’s path for a close-range finish.
It was Haaland’s 65th goal in 57 appearances for Norway and his 16th in his past 17 internationals. He also extended his record as the Nations League’s leading scorer to 22 goals.
Portugal hit back three minutes later
Norway’s equaliser didn’t last long. Orjan Nyland attempted to play out from goal in the 54th minute but found Ramos, who punished the mistake by lifting his finish into the unguarded net from outside the penalty area.
Dias remained on throughout as Portugal protected their lead and made it two victories from their opening two Nations League matches. Haaland also completed the game for Norway, who remain on three points after beating Denmark in their opener.
The two City players aren’t finished with each other yet. Based on City’s international schedule, Haaland’s Norway face Wales on Thursday while Dias and Portugal travel to Denmark.
They then meet again in the return fixture on Sunday. Haaland therefore leaves Oslo with another goal and another international record extended. This time, however, Dias was the City player celebrating at full-time.
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