On the face of it, snatching a win at the death in your group opener, with the help of a defensive error, is not how tournament heavyweights should be setting their stall out, against vastly inferior opposition.
But a Portugal team who have reached the peak of its powers at the optimum moment can take one seismic shift in mentality from an unflattering start: they are no longer laser focused on giving Cristiano Ronaldo the ball at every given opportunity. Their most famous son is, at long last, just part of the team unit. Happily so, too.
The man with five more goals than anyone else in European Championship history was equally willing to let the next generation have their moment in the limelight to break stubborn Czechia in Leipzig.
With so many players at their prime 26-29 physical peak and attacking options coming out of Roberto Martinez’s ears, 21-year-old Francisco Conceicao should have been able to sit back and drink in this golden generation of Portuguese talent fulfilling its destiny.
Instead, he earned a knowing hug from his idol amid jubilant celebrations, having become the first Portuguese substitute to score at a Euros since Eder’s match-winning thunderbolt in the 2016 final. An intervention his father, and club manager, Sergio, would have been proud of.
The timing of the winner and the manner of the jubilant celebrations suggest this was a smash and grab, a late salvo to spare Iberian blushes. But just as England did, if only in spells, there were signs that this really is a Portugal team capable of great things.
Given where he is now playing, it is easy to forget the maniacal circus that follows Ronaldo around like a bad smell. Ninety-five per cent of the shirts in attendance in the Leipzig rain all had his name emblazoned on the back. Whether they be Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid or even Juventus ones, nobody else got a look in.
Even in the press box, Japanese journalists unpacked their laptops, undid their jackets and revealed Portugal jerseys with the iconic seven printed in golden yellow.
On the pitch, however, times have changed. While Ronaldo’s other-worldly goalscoring feats deserve the ultimate acclaim, from the collective perspective, his borderline psychotic obsession to be the best individual player ever has often been to the detriment of those around him.
In the past, whenever a teammate even dared to pass to someone else, the histrionics that followed were unpalatable.
Now, with Liverpool forward Diogo Jota or Manchester City metronome Bernardo Silva down one flank, and Serie A’s leading light Rafael Leao down the other, the Premier League’s best creator Bruno Fernandes has options galore ahead of him.
‘That’s the Cristiano we want’
Ronaldo had his moments in the Red Bull Arena, as he became the second oldest player to ever feature at the Euros – behind team-mate Pepe – seeing two first-half efforts well saved before thinking he had played a part in a late winner, only for a superfast semi-automated offside call to rule Jota’s finish out.
But there was no petulance when he didn’t get the ball. No daggers glared at compatriots. All toys stayed tucked up in the pram. Ronaldo 4.0 is finally willing to accept he can’t do everything himself. It is just a shame it has taken 39 years for him to release that.
“Everyone expects him to score,” Diogo Dalot said. “Today he was very close, but you could see how much he helps us. With his movements and his energy.
“That’s the Cristiano we want.”
Glimpses of Fernandes’ best were also, fleetingly, on show. A sumptuous pass should have been dispatched by Leao early on, while a wicked second-half cross was begging to be put away.
Man-of-the-Match Vitinha made 20 line-breaking passes, with only Germany’s Toni Kroos – 30 against Scotland – making more across the first round of group stage games.
The scoreline masks the early Portuguese team domination too, as Roberto Martinez’s men went all Manchester City, completing 368 passes in the first half, their most in a single half of football at the European Championship finals on record.
There is much for Martinez to rectify. The three-at-the-back system didn’t really work, with Ruben Dias looking especially uncomfortable.
Bernardo will have more productive evenings, Leao more clinical ones. But on another day, with the pressure of the group opener out of the way, Portugal’s 19 shots would have yielded more goals.
There is time to iron out deficiencies, the same ones England and France are currently mulling over. But some fundamentals, one key one in particular, have been straightened out.
As supporters waited long into the Leipzig night for one final glimpse of their hero after the match, there would have been no such fawning inside the team coach. Ronaldo still has plenty of offer but, crucially, so do others.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/meQgw7b
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