Rasmus Hojlund hits back after mocking Cristiano Ronaldo accusations | OneFootball

Rasmus Hojlund denied accusations that he was mocking Cristiano Ronaldo when copying his goal celebration during Denmark's Nations League win over Portugal.

The struggling Manchester United forward, who ended a 21-game goal drought with a recent strike against Leicester City, scored the only goal of the game to help Denmark take a giant step towards the competition's semi-finals.

Hojlund celebrated the 78th-minute winner by imitating Ronaldo's famed 'siu' celebration while the Portugal striker watched with his hands on his hips, but faced a backlash online as it was suggested the 22-year-old was being disrespectful to a player many consider to be one of the greatest of all time.

But that wasn't the case, Hojlund stated after the game, as he instead revealed how much of an influence Ronaldo's had on his career to date.

"It was not to mock him or anything, I've always said he has had great importance for me and my football career," Hojlund revealed to Danish broadcaster TV2. "I'm playing against the world's best footballer, my idol, and to score and become the [match] winner, it couldn't be better.

"Scoring against him and Portugal is huge, I went to see him in 2009, where he scored from a free-kick, and I've been a fan ever since."

Ronaldo was playing the 218th game of a remarkable international career that has seen the 40-year-old score 135 goals – 23 more than rival Lionel Messi.

He wasn't able to score on this occasion, though, with Portugal now needing a swift turnaround in Sunday's second leg clash in Lisbon. Elsewhere, Croatia earned a huge 2-0 win over 2018 World Cup winners France, Germany bested Italy 2-1 in Milan and Spain earned a share of the spoils in the Netherlands thanks to a stoppage-time equaliser from Arsenal's Mikel Merino.