Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal reached the quarter-finals with a great performance in the Nations League. But they stumbled against Denmark in the first leg of the new round. However, goalkeeper Diego Costa kept the Portuguese in the match with some good saves, including a penalty. But the result of the match was not in favor of Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes due to their inactivity. On the contrary, Rasmus Heilund returned with a (1-0) victory, celebrating the favorite of CR7.
Portugal played against Denmark at Parken Stadium yesterday (Thursday) night. Although the visitors were ahead in possession throughout the match, the hosts put goalkeeper Costa to a tough test. The only goal of the match came in the 78th minute. That goal by Hailund decided the fate of the match. Denmark took 23 shots in the entire match, of which 9 were on target. On the other hand, Ronaldo-Fernandez could only put two on target with 8 shots.
Portugal seemed shaky from the start of the match. While goalkeeper Costa was taking a shot, Danish forward Mika Biereth, who was in front of him, stepped on his foot. As a result, the ball was running towards the goal. Costa somehow managed to slide the ball out and save it on its journey. The visitors created the first good opportunity in the eighth minute. However, a powerful shot from Pedro Neto was blocked by Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
The Danes had a good chance to take the lead before the break. Portugal midfielder Renato Veiga had the ball in the D-box, resulting in the referee blowing the penalty whistle. But Costa jumped to the right to block Christian Eriksen’s spot kick. Ronaldo came on the scene in the 34th minute. However, his header was off target. Before the break, both teams had two attempts thwarted by the other goalkeepers-defenders.
Even after the break, the Danes continued to attack Portugal’s defense one after another. Host Manchester United’s Hoylund was close to scoring a goal after being substituted. However, his shot missed the target. Then, in the 78th minute, he scored the deadlock-breaking goal of the match. He coolly put the ball into the net with a placing shot from the opportunity created by his teammates’ passing football. Then, the young forward celebrated Ronaldo’s favorite C…. Portugal could not return to the match.
With this loss, Portugal fell behind in the race to reach the semi-finals of the Nations League. Before that, however, it had won three consecutive matches against Denmark. Both teams will face each other in the return match next Sunday, the match will be held in Portugal’s field.
