Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes grabbed the equalising goal as Portugal came from behind to beat Scotland 2-1 at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon.
In what was Portugal’s second group match of the Nations League, they fell behind just seven minutes in as ex-United midfielder Scott McTominay headed in a fantastic cross.
Portugal stepped up the ante in search of parity but were mostly thwarted by the Tartan Army’s stubborn defence.
Nine minutes after the break, Fernandes came up with a moment of genius when he hit the ball first time from outside the box into the bottom corner. Angus Gunn got a hand to it but couldn’t keep out the United skipper’s superb effort.
It looked like both sides would have to settle for a share of the points but Cristiano Ronaldo – who came on from the bench at the break – had other ideas. The Red Devils legend tapped in the ball from close range to give the Selecao the lead in the dying embers of the match and in the process, break the hearts of Scotland fans.
Fernandes played from start to finish and in that time, had 98 touches of the ball to his name. He successfully found his countrymen with 56 of the 64 passes he attempted, managing an individual pass accuracy of 88%. Six of his passes were key passes.
The United playmaker tried to connect with 14 crosses and four long balls. He found his intended target with just one cross and all four long balls he pinged.
Fernandes created two big chances.
Apart from the goal he scored, he registered another shot on target that required Gunn to intervene immediately.
Fernandes, who turned 29 today, embarked on three dribbles, completing two of them. He delved into 13 ground duels and came out on top on eight occasions.
The player lost the one aerial challenge he was required to contest.
He drew in two fouls and made four tackles.
Fernandes’ United teammate Diogo Dalot was thrust into the action late on and during his brief cameo, won the one ground duel he engaged in and touched the ball 18 times. He completed all his 18 passes, two of which were key passes.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
Dalot and Fernandes will now return to United, ahead of the club’s Premier League match vs. Southampton next weekend.
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