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08.09.2020 » Sweden 0-2 Portugal. Ronaldo returns and scores twice!
For those who doubted that Ronaldo was going to be in excellent form in his first game of the season, the answer was once again delivered on the pitch and with two incredible goals. Portugal travelled to Solna to beat Sweden 2-0 tonight and it would be Cristiano Ronaldo marking the differences in this game, first with a brilliant free-kick in the first half and later in the second, with a splendid shot from just outside the box. The Portuguese star is a true well-oiled machine and unlike those dodgy deals where the buyer feels tempted to purchase an extended car warranty because it may fail us sooner or later, with Ronaldo that's never a problem! With the 3 points earned this evening, Portugal is now on top of their group with the same points as France (6), but with a slightly better goal-average. The two nations will lock horns next month, on October 9.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Sweden vs Portugal
Sweden 0-2 Portugal - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Sweden:
Ronaldo reaches the 100-goal mark
Just like in many other games where Ronaldo ends up scoring, it was all about him tonight... The Juventus superstar scored a brace of goals tonight and by doing so, he reached the impressive 101-goal mark for his nation and he's now only 8 goals behind Iran's Ali Daei 109-goal all-time record.
Tonight, Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for the Portuguese National Team from a long-range distance, via one of his trademark free-kicks. The opener came in right after Sweden were forced to play with 10-men, as Gustav Svensson was shown a second yellow card and made the game a lot easier for the Portuguese team. It wasn't like Portugal wasn't already dominating the game before the red card incident, but it inevitably led Sweden to track back even further and allowed Ronaldo and his teammates to be more comfortable on the pitch.
Before the goal, however, Portugal had already created several good chances to break the deadlock. One of them following a good cross from Bernardo Silva that Pepe got very close to finish and then a couple good opportunities from Cristiano Ronaldo, who saw Robin Olsen delaying his scoring celebrations. It ended up being a matter of time though, as Ronaldo got his much-wanted goal just before the half-time break...
Two games and two wins for Portugal
The second half looked more like a training for Portugal rather than a competitive game in the UEFA Nations League between two high-ranked nations. The Portuguese team is one of the best, if not the best, at moving the ball around in midfield these days and against a 10-men side they didn't get into much trouble and controlled the game at their will.
The only noteworthy moment of the second half arrived in the 72nd minute of the game, when Cristiano Ronaldo decided it was time to write his name on the scoresheet for the second time on the night. Unlike his first goal, this one was scored from an open play and following an assist from Atletico Madrid's João Félix. Ronaldo received his pass just outside the box and after being given a few seconds to prepare his shot, the Portuguese forward lobbed the ball into the net, giving no chances to Robin Olsen.
With tonight's 2-0 win and following last Saturday's 4-1 victory against Croatia, Portugal earned their second straight win in this year's UEFA Nations League. Their biggest rival in this stage of the competition will be France and the two nations will have a first meeting right next month.
Portugal line-up vs Sweden:
Goalkeeper: Anthony Lopes
Defenders: Guerreiro, Rúben Dias, Pepe, João Cancelo
Midfielders: Danilo, João Moutinho, Bruno Fernandes
Attackers: Bernardo Silva, João Félix, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Sweden
|
vs
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Portugal
|
0 |
Goals |
2 |
8 |
Shots |
21 |
1 |
Shots on goal |
8 |
3 |
Corner kicks |
9 |
8 |
Fouls commited |
14 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
1 |
Red cards |
0 |
32% |
Ball possession |
68% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Serie A is on September 20, against Sampdoria. You can watch Juventus vs Sampdoria, West Ham vs Newcastle, Barcelona vs Gimnastic, Liverpool vs Leeds United, Fulham vs Arsenal, and Lens vs PSG, all matches provided from our football live and soccer game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs Sampdoria kick-off time (20-09-2020):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 02:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 01:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:15
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / uefa.com / yahoo.com / bbc.com
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