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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was at it again, this time as Portugal beat Czechia 2-1 in their opening Euro 2024 clash at the Red Bull Arena.
Czechia shed first blood just after the hour mark through Lukas Provod, who produced a thunderbolt strike from just outside the box.
Portugal restored parity seven minutes later as they capitalised on a huge blunder at the Czechia backline, that saw Robin Hranac put the ball in the back of his own net. The match seemed like it was destined to end in a draw until substitute Francisco Conceicao stepped up and grabbed the winner from close range.
Fernandes started in his favoured advanced role in the middle of the park alongside Paris Saint-Germain star Vitinha.
Diogo Dalot and Joao Cancelo assumed the full-back positions, which saw them constantly venture into midfield to help out offensively and in the build-up.
Fernandes had 112 touches of the ball to his name.
He attempted 89 passes and pulled off 76 of them, managing a pass accuracy of 85%. Two of the playmaker’s passes were key passes.
The 29-year-old attempted to find his target with eight crosses and four long balls. He successfully connected with three long balls but none of his crosses found reached a Selecao teammate.
Fernandes created one big chance for Cristiano Ronaldo, but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was thwarted by Jindrich Stanek, who rushed out of his goal, made himself big and kept the striker’s effort out.
The United skipper saw two of his shots at the Czechia goal blocked. He came out on top in two of the six ground duels he won and two of the four aerial challenges he contested.
Fernandes made one tackle and as many interceptions.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
It was yet another impressive and all-round display from him. He will undoubtedly be looking to build on it as Roberto Martinez’s men prepare to take on Turkiye next on Saturday.
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