Rasmus Højlund has clarified that he did not mean to disrespect Cristiano Ronaldo when he performed the Portuguese star’s famous ‘Siu’ celebration after scoring Denmark’s winning goal against Portugal on Thursday in Copenhagen.

Højlund, who came on as a substitute, netted the decisive goal in the 78th minute to secure a 1-0 victory for Denmark in the first leg of the UEFA Nations League quarterfinal.

After scoring, the Manchester United forward ran to the corner and copied Ronaldo’s well-known celebration, while the Portuguese legend watched from the field.

"It's for my idol," Højlund told Danish broadcaster TV2 after the game. "It wasn't to mock him or anything. He's had such a huge impact on me and my football career. Maybe it's a bit ambivalent, but to score against him and Portugal, it's huge.

"I remember him scoring from a free kick in 2011 when I went to watch the match, and since then I've been a huge Cristiano fan."

Højlund has struggled to score for Manchester United this season, the same club where Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008.

Denmark had an early chance to take the lead when Christian Eriksen stepped up for a penalty in the 24th minute. However, Portugal’s goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, guessed correctly and dived to his right to block the shot. Before this, Eriksen had successfully converted 12 penalties for Denmark and had not missed one since 2016.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo made his 218th international appearance, extending his record. However, he was unable to add to his impressive tally of 135 international goals.