Club Mates, International Rivals
Erling Haaland and Ruben Dias found themselves on opposite sides in Oslo on Sunday night, and it was the defender who took the bragging rights back to Manchester. Portugal's 2-1 win over Norway in the Nations League gave Dias the points, even if Haaland got his customary goal.
Haaland's 65th international goal arrived six minutes after the restart, cancelling out Joao Felix's first-half opener. The striker had been kept at bay by Diogo Costa, who parried a cross into his path after 24 minutes only for the centre-back to block the attempt. Costa then denied Haaland twice more before the interval.
But the goalkeeper could do nothing about the equaliser. Martin Odegaard's free-kick was parried, and Patrick Berg knocked the loose ball into Haaland's path for a close-range finish. It was his 16th goal in his past 17 internationals, and it extended his record as the Nations League's leading scorer to 22 goals.
Portugal restored their advantage quickly through Goncalo Ramos, who punished a mistake from Orjan Nyland in the 54th minute. The Norway goalkeeper attempted to play out from goal but found Ramos, who lifted his finish into the unguarded net from outside the penalty area.
Dias remained on throughout as Portugal protected their lead and made it two victories from their opening two Nations League matches. Haaland completed the game for Norway, who remain on three points after beating Denmark in their opener.
Both players will reconvene with their national teams later this week. Norway face Wales on Thursday, while Portugal travel to Denmark. The return fixture between the two sides takes place on Sunday.