Euro 2020 Qualifiers | Portugal 4-2 Serbia: 5 Men who were brilliant for Portugal |

Image Courtesy - AP

When Portugal travelled to the Red Star Stadium in Belgrade to face Serbia in their third match of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification round, they were under a little bit of pressure. The reigning European Champions had drawn both of their first two qualifying games. Interestingly, their last qualifying game against Serbia at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon had ended in a 1-1 draw. Since then, though, Portugal had won the inaugural UEFA Nations League and as such, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. were confident of a positive result going into the game.

Fernando Santos, the Portuguese coach, knew that his team had to fight to earn all three points and named a strong first eleven for the game.

Portuguese Starting XI: Patricio; Guerreiro, Dias, Fonte, Semedo; Pereira, Fernandes, Carvalho, Goncalo Guedes, Ronaldo, Silva

It was the away side who started the game brighter, but Serbia proved to be touch to break. Portugal finally  took the lead through William Carvalho in the 40^th minute. Santos’ men when into the break with a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Goncalo Guedes doubled the lead in the 58^th minute. Serbia got one back through Nikola Milenkovic to give the home team a ray of hope. However, Cristiano Ronaldo scored Portugal’s third of the night to effectively take the game away from the hosts. Bernardo Silva made it 4-1 for Portugal, before Aleksandar Mitrovic scored the last goal of the game, which would turn out to be a mere consolation.

Portugal had 56% possession in the game and attempted 587 passes with 87% accuracy. They had 14 shots, 4 of which were on target. Santos will be proud of his boys, who looked at ease all night. However, the Portuguese will be extra pleased with the performance of these 5 men, who were brilliant on the night.

5. William Carvalho

William Carvalho had a solid day at the office. He was neat and tidy with the ball and helped Portugal win the midfield battle. The Real Betis midfielder closed down the opposition pretty well and his off the ball pressing was excellent. Carvalho regularly barged forward, joining the attack and trying to give Portugal a number’s advantage in the final third. On one occasion, his work ethics paid off.

Following a Bruno Fernandes cross, Cristiano Ronaldo put pressure on Dmitrovic, the Serbian goalkeeper, and forced him to commit a mistake. Carvalho was in the right place at the right time and he slotted the ball home to give Portugal the lead.

4. Bruno Fernandes

The Sporting Lisbon midfielder was under the radar of Manchester United in the summer, but a move never materialized. The Red Devils have missed a player of his calibre in the team, while Bruno Fernandes has gone from strength to strength since the start of the season.

Against Serbia, Bruno Fernandes was crucial in the build up play for his team. He started in the midfield but was allotted a lot of freedom to attack. His one touch play and his passing helped Portugal keep the home side under constant pressure. Fernandes combined very well with Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo, giving the opposition lots of headache all through the game.

He also picked up an assist when he provided the ball for Goncalo Guedes to score the second goal of the game.

3. Goncalo Guedes

The Valencia winger started on the left side of attack and kept Nikola Maksimovic under pressure all through the game. Goncalo Guedes was Portugal’s star of the night in the UEFA Nations Cup final against Netherlands and put in another stellar shift against Serbia too.

After his movement and trickery had kept the home side on the back foot all through the first half, Guedes finally made a telling contribution to the game in the 58^th minute. Picking up a ball from Bruno Fernandes, Guedes ran past a couple of Serbian defenders in the box as if they did not exist. He then finished expertly past Dmitrovic, and gave his team a 2 goal advantage early in the second half.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is the driving force in this Portugal team. The Juventus man sets very high demands for himself and as the captain of his National team, he has been leading his country from the front. Against Serbia, Ronaldo was busy as always, making smart runs, trying to create opportunities and keeping the opposition defense under pressure.

Because he was heavily marked, Ronaldo had trouble breaking away in the first half. However, all that changed with a superb run in the second half that was excellently spotted by Bernardo Silva. Ronaldo broke free of the offside trap and found himself clear on goal, with the goalkeeper closing him down fast. With an exquisite clip of the outside of his right boot, Ronaldo lifted the ball over the onrushing keeper and scored Portugal’s third of the night.

1. Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva was central to Portugal UEFA Nations League triumph in the summer. The Manchester City midfielder carried forward that form into the game against Serbia, and was the best player on the pitch. Bernardo Silva is the engine room of Fernando Santos’ Portugal team, and against Serbia, he showed why he is one of the best midfielders in the world right now.

Bernardo Silva was at his brilliant best on the night, running the play, creating chances, dropping deep and even controlling the tempo of the game. He made the fierce Portuguese forward line tick and created chance after chance for his attackers. His final ball to Ronaldo for Portugal’s third goal was inch perfect and a clear reminder of his abilities as a player.

The Manchester City man also showed his finishing prowess, scoring Portugal’s fourth goal and sealing the game for his team.

Stay tuned for more updates. Till then, stay Football Mad!