Highlight of the Confederations Cup Russia-Portugal Game
Cristiano Ronaldo’s header early on in the Confederations Cup 2017 game against Russia in Moscow yesterday was what gave the Portuguese their win against the hosts. The latter team started off poorly, but pulled themselves together in the 2nd half and went on to attack with verve and intent for the rest of the game.
The Portuguese squad came out fighting, and Ronaldo’s score after only 8 minutes may have caused some of the spectators to assume it was going to be an all out bludgeoning. But the host team’s bravery and great play by Igor Akinfeev, in his 100th appearance for the Russians, made for a very enjoyable game after all.
Ronaldo was the Star of the Show
Portugal started off strong, thanks the Real Madrid star’s goal early on, which Fedor Kudryashov missed at the far cross before it headed home, after Raphael’s Guerriero’s input.
Portugal kept pushing for a 2nd goal, and Ronaldo had a chance to do this after Andre Gomes’ setup at the 1 hour mark, but he ended up mistiming the header and sent the ball well wide of the target just before he recklessly blasted a shot over the crossbar. The game started to open up at this point.
Hosts Get Back in During the 2nd Half
The host team started making their presence felt later on in the game, as the 1st half was drawing to a close. Aleksandr Golovin managed to reach Fedor Smolov with low cross shot from the right, only for the Krasnodar FC star to end up aiming his left-footed attempt far too wide of the goal, and the shudder from supporters who were aiming for a Russian win at the sports betting sites offering markets for this game could be heard worldwide!.
Andre Silva, the new signing from AC Milan, also had a chance to add his name to the list of scorers just after the break, thanks to him beating his marker to Cedric Soares’ cross coming from the right, but, as if by a miracle, Akinfeev managed to keep the striker’s head out, and his stunning reflex kept Russia’s hopes of a win alive.
It wasn’t enough, however, since it seems the Russian team simply lacks the individual player quality required to worry Rui Patricio, the goalkeeper for the Portuguese team.
First Win for Portugal in Moscow
The Portuguese team happily rode in on the wave caused by Ronaldo’s early goal in order to register their win against Russia, however narrow it ended up being, and they performed equally well in the first match they appeared in. Although the final results from that game were 2 all, thanks to Hector Moreno’s late goal, they performed well, and deserve the honour of their win against the Confederation Cup hosts in this game. Ronaldo in fact picked up the Man of the Match award for the game against Mexico, and their trouncing of the Russians marks the 1st win they have ever managed in Moscow.
