14.10.2020 » Portugal 3-0 Sweden. Great win even without Ronaldo!
The last couple days all headlines were about Cristiano Ronaldo having tested positive the Corona-virus, despite multiple international games scheduled for this Wednesday, including the clash between Portugal and Sweden. The Portuguese and Juventus superstar flew over to Turin earlier today to intiate his 10-day quarantine and has certainly watched his teammates beating the Swedish team by 3-0 from the comfort of home. Fernando Santos' men showed no signs of fragility after being deprived from their captain and made easy work of Sweden, mostly thanks to a super performance from Diogo Jota. The Liverpool signing added one assist and two goals to his international record...
Portugal 3-0 Sweden - Goals and highlights:
Jota comes in for Ronaldo
Following two consecutive goaless draws in the last few days against Spain and France, Fernando Santos was certainly a bit concerned about his side's lack of efficiency on the last third of the pitch. If we add to that the fact that Ronaldo was ineligible for today's game after having had two Covid-19 tests returning positive this Tuesday, there were more than enough reasons to raise a few question marks ahead of tonight's bout against Sweden.
Nevertheless, there was another way to look at this unfortunate Ronaldo episode and that was hoping that each of his teammates would step up their game and actually win tonight's clash in a sort of a tribute to their team captain. And somehow, that's exactly what happened as Portugal had a brilliant game against Sweden and didn't face much trouble against the Nordics.
The Portuguese manager only made a few changes to his starting lineup, one in his defense and another in attack of course, as Cristiano Ronaldo was not an option for tonight's game. In his place, Fernando Santos played Diogo Jota and let's just say he didn't got disappointed with the way things turned out.
There's always room for another hero...
The Portuguese team started well and it didn't take them too long to break their opponent and actually make the scoreboard work. Sweden didn't look very good in the picture as their defense was completely mispositioned on the field, allowing Diogo Jota to break free and explore a lot of space right outside the visitors' box, just before assisting Bernardo Silva for a classy finish. Quick and effective play from the Seleção and the Manchester City star was happy to score Portugal's first goal on the night...
Just before the half-time break, the Portuguese team found another breach in Sweden's defense and made them pay for such a huge mistake. This time, João Cancelo was the goal engineer as he brilliantly found Diogo Jota unmarked with a long pass made from the midfield line and the former Wolves player showed his coolness under pressure, hitting the back of the net with a right-footed shot and making it 2-0 for Portugal.
The 3-0 was another memorable moment for Diogo Jota, as the 23-year old received the ball near the left sideline, then cut inside at full steam with the ball always close to his foot and beat Robin Olsen to complete his first brace while playing for his country. It's a night Jota will never forget and Portugal were happy to collect the 3 points and dedicate tonight's win to Ronaldo.
Portugal line-up vs Sweden:
Goalkeeper: Rui Patrício
Defenders: Guerreiro, Pepe, Rúben Dias, João Cancelo
Midfielders: William Carvalho, Danilo, Bruno Fernandes
Attackers: Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota, João Félix.
Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
Portugal
|
vs
|
Sweden
|
3 |
Goals |
0 |
17 |
Shots |
8 |
6 |
Shots on goal |
3 |
6 |
Corner kicks |
9 |
12 |
Fouls commited |
17 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
4 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
49% |
Ball possession |
51% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus in the Serie A is on October 17, against Crotone. You can watch Crotone vs Juventus, Real Madrid vs Cadiz, Nimes vs PSG, Everton vs Liverpool, Chelsea vs Southampton, and Duren Merzenich vs Bayern Munich, all matches provided from our football game pages.
Juventus next game:
Crotone vs Juventus kick-off time (17-10-2020):
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 / beinsports.com / dailymail.co.uk
