Cristiano Ronaldo escapes RED CARD as Portugal scrape narrow win against Slovakia

Portugal defeated a solid and well-drilled Slovakia side 1-0 thanks to a fine finish from Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes.

Portugal edged the opening 20 minutes, with Bruno Fernandes seeing an early effort saved by Martin Dúbravka in the Slovakia goal.

Roberto Martínez’s side continued to push for an opener but Slovakia's defence remained strong in the face of pressure.

Portugal finally found the breakthrough just before halftime, with Fernandes dribbling past a couple of defenders, before firing home a sweet strike. 

The second half was finely balanced for the most part with the hosts pushing for an equaliser.

Milan Škriniar spurned their best opportunity late on as Portugal held on to secure a vital win to move five points clear at the top of Group J.

The game's other talking point was Ronaldo escaping a red card in the first half.

The 38-year-old was perhaps lucky to escape a sending-off after catching Slovakia's goalkeeper with a dangerous challenge. The former Manchester United star lunged in for a tackle with Newcastle's Martin Dubravka and the shot-stopper came off much worse from the 50-50 collision.