Oslo watched Cristiano Ronaldo from the bench as Portugal made it two wins from two in the Nations League, surviving a fierce Norwegian response to leave with a 2-1 victory on Sunday night.
Jorge Jesus again chose to begin without the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who was not used at any point. Portugal’s new-look attack supplied the goals, with João Félix and Gonçalo Ramos striking either side of Norway’s brief equaliser.
Félix opened the scoring after 16 minutes. Nuno Mendes created the opening with determined work down the left before the forward finished with precision. Portugal carried that advantage into the break, although Erling Haaland had already caused problems: Diogo Costa denied him in the 13th minute and Rúben Dias made another important intervention 11 minutes later.
Norway levelled six minutes after half-time when Haaland found the net, giving the home side the momentum at a packed Oslo stadium. The Manchester City striker was heavily involved throughout, registering eight attempts and putting four on target, but he could not turn Norway’s pressure into a second goal.
Portugal responded quickly. Gonçalo Ramos punished a poor clearance from goalkeeper Orjan Nyland in the 54th minute, lifting a composed finish over the Norwegian keeper. The Milan centre-forward thought he had added another four minutes later after another Nyland error, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside.
Rafael Leão also hit the crossbar with his first touch of the match in the 57th minute, yet Portugal were forced to defend deep during the closing stages. Norway finished with 21 shots to Portugal’s 12, underlining how narrow the visitors’ escape had become after taking control through their clinical finishing.
The result follows Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales in their opening group fixture and puts them alone at the top after two rounds. For Jesus, the evening offered another sign that Portugal can find goals and results without Ronaldo in the starting side, even if Haaland and Norway ensured there was no comfortable ending.
