Portugal defeat Sweden thanks to an inspired Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal overcame a resilient Sweden side to make it two wins from two in their 2020-21 UEFA Nations League campaign.

Cristiano Ronaldo was central to Portugal, having missed Portugal’s 4-1 win over Croatia, netting both of Portugal’s goal as they came out of the game with a 2-0 win.

Ronaldo has continued his fine scoring record against Sweden, and his first goal - an impeccable free-kick just minutes before half time - marked his 100th goal for the Portugal national team, in the process becoming the first player in European football to score a century of goals for his country at senior level.

Indeed, Ronaldo, with 101 goals for his nation, closes the gap on the highest international goalscorer in the world to just 8, with Ali Daei with his 109 goals for Iran the only player in history to have scored more goals for his country.

Ronaldo’s second was almost as good as his first as he curled a delicate effort into the top corner from the edge of the box after receiving the ball from Joao Felix.

Ronaldo was unable to seal another famous hattrick against Sweden though, taken off with 10 minutes left on the clock in place of Diogo Jota.

Match Report - Red card was a defining moment

After a quality home display against Croatia on Saturday, dominating the World Cup finalists as they cruised to an impressive, and unflattering, 4-1 victory, many anticipated an equally comfortable victory against Sweden, particularly with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo back in the starting XI.

However, it was Sweden that saw most of the ball for the opening half an hour of the game, and looked more threatening than Croatia did across 90 minutes in Portugal’s previous outing.

But for all the ball Sweden saw and all the pressure they put on Fernando Santos’ side, Portugal defended astutely and stifled all of the host’s opportunities at source, witth Sweden failing to truly test Anthony Lopes.

And although Sweden went toe-to-toe with Portugal, ultimately it was the Selecao that had the major chances in the first half. Pepe very nearly opened the scoring, just failing to reach a beautiful cross into the box by Bernardo Silva - who had to limp off injured only seconds later - while Cristiano Ronaldo almost grabbed a goal as he slashed a shot towards goal from a Bruno Fernandes corner, only to be denied by the feet of shot-stopper Olsen.

Ronaldo nearly opened the scoring again when he latched onto the end of an exquisite Joao Cancelo pass, but again his thunderous effort was matched by Olsen.

Portugal didn’t have to wait too much longer though, and broke the deadlock in stunning fashion. Svensson’s foul on Joao Moutinho outside the area saw him booked for the second time on the night, and Sweden faced an uphill battle from there. Things went from bad to worse almost immediately for Janne Andersson’s side though, with Cristiano Ronaldo rifling home in exceptional fashion from the resultant free-kick, the accuracy and power beating Olsen despite the distance from goal.

Portugal, as you would expect, dominated the second half, and even struck the bar through Fernandes after a great cross by Guerreiro, who had another impressive game. Cristiano Ronaldo doubled Portugal’s advantage in the 72nd minute though to ease all concerns of a shock comeback, a beautiful long ball by Bruno Fernandes finding Joao Felix. The young Atletico Madrid man then fed the ball into Ronaldo, whose curling effort was too accurate for Olsen to keep out.

Portugal had further chances in the final 15 minutes, Felix’s accurate long shot nearly finding the bottom corner but for Olsen’s outstretched hand, while he almost found the back of the net again, but was just too short to latch onto Bruno Fernandes’ cross-shot.

Portugal, though not as impressive as in their last outing, got the job done with comfort in the end, with the likes of Danilo Pereira, Raphael Guerreiro and Joao Felix in particular impressing - in addition to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal top their Nations League grou currently, ahead of France on goal difference, who they face away in their next match on 11th October.

Cristiano Ronaldo. Photo author: Chensiyuan. License link.