Serbia 2-2 Portugal: Ronaldo denied dramatic winner after Jota brace

Belgrade, March 28: Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a dramatic late winner in contentious circumstances as Portugal threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Serbia in World Cup qualifying on Saturday (March 27).

Diogo Jota had seen his double cancelled out by Aleksandar Mitrovic and Filip Kostic – the former becoming Serbia's all-time leading scorer with his 39th international goal – at the Rajko Mitic Stadium.

Portugal skipper Ronaldo was then convinced his last-gasp effort had crossed the line but the officials judged Stefan Mitrovic cleared before all of the ball had done so, with the Juventus superstar booked for his protestations before he angrily threw his captain's armband on the floor.

It means both Portugal and Serbia, who had Nikola Milenkovic sent off prior to the late drama, each have four points - one more than Luxembourg, who sealed a remarkable 1-0 win against the Republic of Ireland.

Segundo jogo no caminho para o 𝗠𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹 🌍🏆 e queremos a segunda vitória! #VamosComTudo

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⌚ 19h45
🏟 FK Crvena Zvezda
📺 @RTP1

Second match in our path to the 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗽 🌍🏆 and we want our second win! #TeamPortugal #WCQ2022 pic.twitter.com/bVH46t9PXs

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) March 27, 2021

Fernando Santos' side were underwhelming in their opening Group A clash against Azerbaijan on Wednesday, needing an own goal to seal a slender 1-0 win, but they started sharply and went ahead after 11 minutes.

Bernardo Silva's cross from the right was met by Jota, who steered a deft header past Marko Dmitrovic from six yards.

The Liverpool forward then doubled Portugal's advantage with his fifth international goal in the 36th minute, heading in off Dmitrovic's right-hand post from eight yards after being picked out by Cedric Soares' fine cross.

Serbia clawed one back just 27 seconds into the second half, Mitrovic – who scored twice in the 3-2 win over Ireland on Wednesday – heading in substitute Nemanja Radonjic's cross from six yards for his landmark goal.

Anthony Lopes tipped over Dusan Tadic's deflected volley soon after, with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic heading narrowly wide from the resulting corner.

Serbia deservedly pulled level on the hour mark, Kostic clipping past Lopes after a flowing breakaway move involving Radonjic and Tadic.

Ronaldo thought he had sealed an important win for his side in the dying stages after Milenkovic's dismissal, but referee Danny Makkelie had other ideas, much to the Juventus forward's dismay.