Genius Ronaldo dominates moments and VAR to send Portugal through

Ronaldo. A footballer perhaps impervious to the ageing process. A footballer seemingly impervious to nerves. A football definitely impervious to being upstaged, even by the most ridiculous of VAR decisions. Yet, also a footballer who knows his limitations.

As Swiss captain Granit Xhaka said in the mixed zone post-match, Ronaldo's level given his age, at 34, is ridiculous. He performs at the level he does - for want of a better term - a Ballon d'Or level because he is acutely aware of what he can’t do.

The Juventus player can no longer dominate games like he did in his pomp. This version of Ronaldo dominates moments.

Three moments to be precise during the Nations League semi-final against Switzerland. There was the moment in the first half when he addressed the ball with the laces of his boot in the trademark Ronaldo way that saw his free-kick bamboozle Yann Sommer; there was the moment in the second half where a burst of speed saw him ahead of his man to bury Portugal's second and there was the third, a moment of inevitability, where he cut inside to slot home. However, those moments aside, Ronaldo, bar a first-half sleight of foot that left Kevin Mbabu nauseous, was on the periphery.

However, that is no criticism. He dominates from the periphery. A player who dominates key moments, and by association dominates the game. The other 21 players on the pitch had to play the game for 90 minutes, Ronaldo only had to play, really play, for three minutes. It was enough.

Switzerland had enough opportunities to win this game; they had fourteen to Portugal’s 10. Both sides had three attempts on target; one side had Cristiano Ronaldo. The difference maker. Five shots, three on target, three goals.

He is relentless. And it was that relentless nature that meant the post-match talking point was not dominated by the ridiculous VAR decision to award Switzerland a penalty. To summarise: referee Dr. Felix Brych awarded Portugal a stonewall penalty for a trip on Bernardo Silva some 60 or so seconds after the referee had elected, quite rightly to this observer’s eye, not to award Switzerland a penalty after Nelson Semedo had brushed the arm of Steven Zuber. However, after an on-field VAR review, Dr. Brych rescinded Portugal’s penalty to award the non-penalty to the Swiss.

That system needs addressing. However, rather mercifully for those averse to days of hand-wringing over a system that is clearly not fit for purpose, Ronaldo ensured VAR did not dominate the inaugural Nations League semi-final. His intervention left Portugal coach Fernando Santos, who had named an unexpected attacking line up including debutant Joao Felix, with a different adjective to describe Ronaldo: genius.

"What can I say about Ronaldo?

A genius, yes, without doubt. Peerless? Quite possibly. No one does what Ronaldo does. He bends games to his wont through pure force of will. In fact, the 34-year-old's sheer force of personality has driven him to a career beyond his talent. Are there more talented players? Certainly. Lionel Messi is one, and perhaps Neymar is another. Has there ever been a more decisive player, though? Not in the modern era. Yet, Ronaldo has made it seem the norm.

So much so that team-mates are borderline dismissive, with Bernardo Silva telling the press after the game:

At this point it would be remiss to not mention that up until the 88th minute, Bernardo was probably the game's standout player but Ronaldo operates in a different sphere, as geniuses do. Ronaldo is a footballing genius - one without peer, who normalises the absurd.