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Portugal have successfully secured their place at the EURO 2020 finals as they overcame minnows Luxembourg in the ongoing UEFA EURO 2020 Qualifying Group B fixture at the Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg.
The 2016 champions weren't at their clinical best tonight and failed to replicate their performances from the six-goal thriller against Lithuania last time around. Fernando Santos' men were sloppy at times and were caught off-guard on multiple occasion by their opponents, whose failure to capitalize might be the only reason why they went home with a clean sheet.
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Cristiano Ronaldo, who was the centre of attention in the match, somehow managed to get on the scoresheet in the 86th minute, but as it has been so often of late, Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva was the real MVP of the game.
Apart from the five-time winner's goal, the major talking point from the game has to be the dodgy pitch conditions in tonight's fixture which in all honesty were reminiscent of the infamous fields from the 1960s.
So, with Portugal all set to defend their title next year and Ronaldo moving just one closer to the magical 100-goal mark with his nation, we present the three reasons which facilitated A Seleção's easy win over Luxembourg.
#1 Luxembourg's defence failed to deal with balls directed in and around their 18-yard box
Clearing incoming crosses and lofted balls into the box is probably the most basic and important defending skill. Though the hosts had answers for most of what Portugal's attack threw at them, they struggled to deal especially with long balls.
And it was their inability to keep a check on these passes that eventually lead to their downfall despite a resilient display against a team that is ranked 90 places above them in the FIFA Rankings.
The first goal came against the run of the play when Bruno Fernandes latched onto Bernardo Silva's perfectly-weighted long ball and fired the shot into the bottom right corner. While Ronaldo's goal late in the second half also came from a Silva pass, as he found Diogo Jota inside the 6-yard box whose shot on target was eventually put in by Ronaldo for his 99th international goal in the Portugal shirt.
Though the hosts looked like the better side for the first quarter of the game, their lack of defensive awareness cost them the game.
#2 Luxembourg were wasteful in the final third
Luxembourg are not a team known for their goal scoring prowess. As a matter of fact, they have only managed 7 goals in 8 games in the current qualifying campaign, which is the sixth-lowest tally for the current campaign.
Though they started off the fixture in good fashion, the intensity of their attack waned off very soon and once Portugal got their goal, it became even more difficult for them to get the ball into the final third, as the visitors preferred keeping the ball and the lead to themselves.
Midfielder Oliver Thill and striker Maurice Deville did provide a threat going forward, but it all resulted into nothing for Die Roten Löwen.
Also, they failed to capitalize on many a mistake by the Portuguese players, who seemed to be struggling with the pitch conditions and gave away possessions cheaply as a result.
#1 Bernardo Silva was a creative force, yet again
In tonight's fixture, everyone's eyes must've been on Cristiano Ronaldo. He was on the verge of becoming the second player ever of scoring a century of goals at the international level, given his hat-trick just two days ago, but it was Portugal's No.10 who ran the show.
Bernardo Silva has really come into his own over the past few years for the national side and has replicated his club form with his nation very well.
He was the wellspring of both the goals scored tonight, with a classy assist for the first goal and the decisive pass that led to the second goal in 86th minute. At times he was the only player moving the ball forward on the pitch for the visitors.
Though Portugal secured a 2-0 victory over their opponents, more was expected from the side that had absolutely demolished their previous opponents 6-0. This performance offered a reminder of its occasional lack of fluency from the reigning champions. But in Silva, they have now found a player who they can count on both now and the future.
