The Portugal captain, playing in what's expected to be his last WC tournament, will have wanted to ensure all eyes were upon him once more, after Messi in particular dominated the headlines thanks to his brilliant hat-trick against Algeria.
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Writing on the wall for DRC after six minutes
Unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions, A Selecao went into the match as heavy favourites against the Democratic Republic of Congo, though Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Cedric Bakambu and Yoane Wissa all had elite-level league experience, suggesting that, perhaps, the task ahead of Portugal might not have been as easy as it first seemed.
Within six minutes, however, the writing already appeared on the wall for the DRC, as Pedro Neto delivered a pinpoint ball into the box and one of the smallest men on the pitch, Joao Neves, was left all alone to power home the opening goal with a towering header.
A collective 77% possession in the opening quarter hour from the Portuguese ensured that DRC's chances were few and far between, though Wissa, Bakumbu and Edo Kayembe all had efforts at goal over the course of the first 30 minutes.
Indeed, it was a battling performance from DRC that continued to frustrate Ronaldo and Co., with both wing-backs, Masuaku and Wan-Bissaka, not only benefitting from the ability to get forward with ease - they'd both go on to attempt three dribbles each in the match - but involving themselves in 14 one-on-ones over the course of the 90+ minutes.
Wissa stuns Portugal
Their industry was matched by Wissa, Kayembe and Samuel Moutoussamy, who were also more than willing to close down space quickly, ensuring that Portugal's creative hub of Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Neves couldn't get their natural game going.
Much of Portugal's time was spent passing for passing's sake, and though Vitinha (134), Tomas Araujo (109) and Renato Veiga (103) all broke the century barrier for touches (with Neto on 97 and Fernandes on 96), there was rarely any purposeful movement from the Europeans.
Fernandes' blocked effort on 39 was only their second attempt of the game, and as DRC's confidence grew, they took full advantage of some poor Portuguese marking at a corner.
Masuaku bent in a high ball, and no one rose to meet Wissa, who headed home the equaliser in first-half stoppage-time.
Epic passing stats from A Selecao
Portugal would again have the lion's share of possession at the start of the second half, and the accuracy was quite astonishing to watch at times.
Neves (97.8%), Neto (95.1%) and Vitinha (94.5%) were running rings around their opponents; however, an inability from their front men to deliver meant that, in practice, the pretty passing carousels offered little other than spectacle.
Ronaldo wouldn't have his first shot until the 68th minute, and with only 25 total touches in the match, his contribution in trying to get his side back into the game was pretty abysmal.
Two more shots from him in the latter stages of the game were also off target, as were any other efforts from his teammates, meaning that Neves' goal was the only Portuguese effort on target in the entire game.
10 major tournament games without a goal for Ronaldo
From Ronaldo's perspective, it meant a 10th major tournament game without scoring, despite having 33 attempts in that time, and Portugal’s seven shots were their joint-fewest in a FIFA World Cup match (also seven v Korea in 2002).
If Roberto Martinez is looking for reasons why his side was unable to get all three points on the board, 29 touches in the DRC box from his players, leading to just that one goal, is a decent starting point.
No dribbles from Ronaldo, Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, the three most experienced players in the XI, is another.
Perhaps Bruno losing possession on 17 separate occasions could also be considered as a contributory factor.
Notwithstanding that, when the going got tough, the team leader, Ronaldo, was nowhere to be seen, and for a player who thrives on writing the script in any game, that's simply not good enough.
Poor level of effort from European giants
That should take nothing away from DRC's dogged determination to stay in the game throughout, scoring their first-ever World Cup goal and earning their first-ever point in the process.
With only 249 total passes compared to Portugal's 783, it was always going to need a backs-against-the-wall performance from the African nation even to come close to stopping the current Nations League champions from earning a big win.
17 tackles attempted compared to Portugal's 12, nine of them won (six for A Selecao), and five interceptions made (just three from the Portuguese), says much about DRC's willingness to go toe-to-toe with their more celebrated opponents.
It's also a damning indictment on the level of effort put in by players who, in the main, ply their club trade in the very top echelons of the game.