Euro 2020 Qualifiers | Lithuania 1-5 Portugal: 3 Men who were brilliant for Portugal

Image Courtesy - Goal.com

 

After their convincing win against Serbia, Portugal’s Euro 2020 Qualifiers were back on track. Cristiano Ronaldo’s had been among the 5 players who impressed in that game and you can read about it here. As such, the visit to LFF Stadium in Lithuania was a chance for Fernando Santos to build the momentum. The Portuguese coach knew that he had to win the game and named his team accordingly.

Portuguese Starting XI: Patricio; Guerreiro, Dias, Fonte, Cancelo; Neves, Fernandes, Carvalho; Felix, Ronaldo, Silva

The home side had a good chance to take the lead early in the game, but failed to score. As expected, Portugal grew into the game and were awarded a penalty when Joao Felix’s cross was handled in the box by Markus Palionis. Ronaldo scored from the spot to make it 1-0.

However, the home side equalized through Vytautas Andriuskevicius in the 28^th minute. The first half ended 1-1, but Portugal were clearly the better side. After the break, Ronaldo scored thrice, and William Carvalho added a 5^th in injury time to round up a resounding win for the away side. The win takes Santos’ men within 5 points of group leaders Ukraine, with a game in hand. Ukraine have won 4 of their 5 games so far, scoring 11 goals and conceding just 1. They are still unbeaten in the group and will face Portugal in October.

The Euro 2018 winner, on the other hand, next face Luxembourg in October, a game they must win to close down the gap with the leaders and seal automatic qualification. As of now though, the players can bask in the glory of a fantastic win away to Lithuania.

While the whole team worked together to get the win, Fernando Santos will be extra pleased with the performance of these 5 men, who were brilliant on the night.

3. William Carvalho

Image Source - Sky Sports

The Real Betis midfielder is a silent worker for both club and country. William Carvalho provides the steel in the midfield, which allows the attack minded players to flourish. He rarely takes the limelight on the field, but does all the dirty work for his team. Against Serbia, Carvalho put in a stellar shift and even scored the opening goal, which showed his rising importance in the team.

Carvalho had Ruben Neves alongside him for company against Lithuania and the two of them worked in tandem to keep the opposition at bay. The Real Betis midfielder was particularly impressive, wasting very little time on the ball and venturing forward at every occasion to increase the numbers in the final third. When Portugal lost the ball, Carvalho strived hard to recover possession for his team, intercepting the play and throwing in tackles. And in the dying moments of the game, he found himself at the right place at the right time.

As Portugal piled up the pressure on the home side, the Real Betis midfielder positioned himself at the edge of the box, waiting to pounce on any lose ball. After a ping pong session in the box, the ball fell to him and he finished smartly to score his team’s 5^th goal of the game.

2. Bernardo Silva

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Bernardo Silva has slowly taken over the mantle from David Silva and Kevin de Bruyne to become the most important player for Pep Guardiola, at Manchester City. He is the chief creative source in the City side and was brilliant last year in the absence of de Bruyne. In the Portuguese side too, the Manchester City man is indispensable, even though he is deployed in a more attacking role. Bernardo Silva has been playing as a part of the front three in Fernando Silva’s team and has excelled so far in the position.

Against Lithuania, Bernardo Silva continued where he had left off in the last game. The Manchester City man was the best player on the pitch in the last game against Serbia and it was no different against Lithuania either. Silva dropped down from his position, opened up the opposition defense with his passes and caused the home night all sorts of trouble. There seems to be a budding understanding between him and Ronaldo and it was on display once again on the night.

The Juventus man scored his third of the night from a Bernardo Silva cross from the right wing in the 65^th minute. The Manchester City man found his skipper again in the 76^th minute, spotting him in position and threading in a nice ball from Ronaldo to score.

Even though Bernardo Silva failed to score on the night, he had a massive impact in the game and was, once again, one of the best players on the pitch.

1. Cristiano Ronaldo

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The Juventus forward had taken a step back in the team in recent times for his country, allowing his talented team mates to flourish. In the UEFA Nations League final too, Ronaldo had failed to influence the game, even though Portugal did go on to win the game. Last week, against Serbia, the former Real Madrid man was on the score sheet, but his impact had not been talismanic. If anyone was beginning to doubt his abilities, the Juventus man gave them a glowing reminder of what he was capable of.

Ronaldo started the game as the central striker, with Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva either side of him. In the 7^th minute, Portugal won a penalty and their skipper stepped up to put his team ahead. However, Lithuania equalized in the 28^th minute. From there though, it was up to Ronaldo to inspire his team and that was exactly what he did.

The Portuguese skipper put his team back in front in the 61^st minute, after a fumble from the Lithuania goalkeeper Setkus. 4 minutes later, Ronaldo had put clear day light between the two sides and had completed his 8^th hattrick for his national team. However, he was not done yet. In the 76^th minute, receiving a ball from Bernardo Silva at the edge of the box, the Juventus forward score his 4^th of the game, becoming the only player in the history of Portugal to score 4 goals in a match, twice.