Rasmus Hojlund insists he was not disrespecting Cristiano Ronaldo by copying his ‘Siu’ goal celebration when scoring for Denmark against Portugal on Thursday night.

With Ronaldo absent after a fall-out with Portugal boss Jorge Jesús, all eyes were on whether Jesus’ side could cope without their record-goalscorer but, rather than struggle, they flourished, winning 4-2 in Copenhagen.

Hojlund made it 2-2 on the night with a lovely chipped finish before running away and performing Ronaldo’s trademark jump and turn celebration.

Vitinha and Joao Felix netted in the final 25 minutes to hand Portugal the win after which there was a slightly bizarre exchange between Hojlund and Jesus. As they shook hands and patted it each other on the chest, the Napoli striker appeared to push the 72-year-old away before turning to give him an angry look.

Hojlund praises Ronaldo: he is my idol

Asked about the celebration afterwards, Hojlund revealed Ronaldo was a huge inspiration to him.

He said: “I just wanted to send a strong message to the Portuguese national team, that if they don’t value Cristiano, there are many people around the world whom he has inspired and who still admire him.

“It was a tribute to a man who may be finished with his national team career – after what has happened.I just wanted to pay tribute to him once again. It has nothing to do with lack of respect. He’s my big idol.”

Jesus’ approach pays off as Portugal sparkle

Portugal’s performance was vindication for Jesus’ hardline approach with the veteran striker, who walked out on the camp on Wednesday night.

The squad looked liberated and performed with an attacking verve not often seen in recent months.

Asked if the players are behind him, Jesus told Sport TV: “There’s no reason for them not to be behind me. What matters is what we have to do. I know why you asked that question, but things happen—they don’t divide the team, and they won’t divide us.”

Portugal fly home on Friday ahead of Sunday’s home game with Norway in Porto.

It seems unlikely the situation with Ronaldo will change before then but Jesus said it would be discussed after that game.

He added: “After the Dragão match, we’ll see what happens.

“It’s difficult to wait until then, but the most important thing now is to think about the next match and what we can deliver in it.”