Portugal's loss to Spain at home prevented Cristiano Ronaldo and the team from winning the UEFA Nations League.
Portugal was defeated late in the contest despite only needing a draw to win the tournament and go to the finals. Spain won 1-0 thanks to a strike from Alvaro Morata in the 88th minute.
In extra time, Ronaldo had an opportunity to tie the score, but Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon stopped him.
After a very sluggish start to the season, Ronaldo had the chance to refute his detractors in this game, and he will now reflect that he failed in a contest with significant stakes.
Bruno Fernandes was Portugal's most likely goal scorer and did start and play the whole 90 minutes.
In a match where Spain had 68 percent of the ball and Portugal only had a small amount of it, Fernandes produced three opportunities.
With four shots on goal compared to Spain's five, two of which came from Ronaldo, Portugal remained a threat.
Fernandes, who only had 30 touches, made the most of his possession by opening up possibilities but was unable to break the draw.
He participated in both games during the international break, like Ronaldo, and scored in the previous encounter, a 4-0 triumph over the Czech Republic.
With two goals, Diogo Dalot was the standout of the victory over the Czechs. Because Joao Cancelo of Manchester City was preferred, he was not included in this game. With the derby this weekend, this might be advantageous for United.
Against Spain, Dalot was an unutilized substitute. He is anticipated to start for United on Sunday; this season, he has been a constant in the league.
the first Ronaldo criticism
Ronaldo entered the contest under pressure, and the backlash has already started. The striker "is not who he was," according to the Spanish publication AS, concentrating on a squandered opportunity in the 71st minute when he failed to spot a defender behind him who sprinted in to deny him a goalscoring opportunity.
Ronaldo has only scored once this season—a penalty against Sheriff Tiraspol—and he hasn't had a particularly productive international break.
Given that neither Marcus Rashford nor Anthony Martial have been seen returning to practice, Manchester United will be in a pickle for the upcoming weekend.
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