Bruno Fernandes’ fine form ahead of Euro 2024 continues as Portugal sink Ireland 3-0
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes extended his excellent form ahead of Euro 2024 in yet another fine performance for Portugal as they beat Ireland 3-0.
Joao Felix opened the score within the opening 18 minutes of proceedings to send Portugal on their way. It was Fernandes who provided the assist for Felix’s opening strike.
Second-half goals in the 50th and 60th minutes respectively from Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the deal for Portugal in their final friendly clash before they kickstart their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany.
Fernandes played all 90 minutes of the action.
During the time he was on the pitch, the playmaking midfielder registered 90 touches of the ball and successfully delivered 69 of the 74 passes he attempted, managing an individual pass completion rate of 93%.
Six of Fernandes’ passes were key passes.
He tried to find a Selecao teammate with five crosses and three long balls. He found his intended target with one of his crosses and two of the three long balls he pinged.
The 29-year-old created one big chance and had two shots to his name. One was on-target while the other didn’t require Caoimhin Kelleher in the Ireland net to swing into action.
The United skipper embarked on three dribbles but completed just one of them. He delved into three ground duels and came out on top on just one occasion.
Fernandes shared the pitch with United teammate Diogo Dalot, who featured for just 45 minutes before he was replaced by Nelson Semedo. Roberto Martinez made the same personnel change in Portugal’s prior match vs. Croatia and it may be indicative of the fact that he has not settled on a guaranteed starting right-back for Euro 2024.
Dalot touched the ball 41 times and delivered 33 of the 34 passes he tried – a pass accuracy of 97%. One of his passes was a key pass.
The United defender won half of his contests on the ground. He also put in one tackle.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
All attention for Fernandes, Dalot and their international teammates now shifts to their opening group clash of Euro 2024 against Czechia in a week’s time.
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