During last year’s European Championships, Portugal’s run through the knockout stage was defined just as much by their excellent defense as the play of Cristiano Ronaldo. Tuesday was a classic callback to that tournament, as Portugal beat Russia 1-0 in a relatively dull game, with Ronaldo scoring the winner.
Portugal vs. Russia: Final score 1-0, Cristiano Ronaldo scores and that’s it
One goal was enough for Portugal to take control of their Confederations Cup group.
Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images
The goal came just eight minutes into the match. Raphael Guerreiro set it up with a lofted cross to the back post, and Ronaldo applied the headed finish. Fedor Kudryashov will likely be in for some criticism postgame for losing sight of Ronaldo and letting the reigning Ballon d’Or winner drift behind him.
Igor Akinfeev was forced into an incredible save on Andre Silva in the 50th minute, while Ronaldo missed a chance to double his team’s lead in the 63rd. That was about it for big chances in the match, though — Portugal played defensively after they scored, and executed well.
While Russia had more of the ball in the second half and pushed forward with regularity, they created nothing of consequence. The hosts finished the game with just three shots, and none of them were on target. Rui Patricio has rescued dozens of results for Portugal during his career, but on this occasion, he had no saves to make.
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