The Portuguese superstar sprinted across the pitch at breakneck speed to score his first goal against Germany in Euro 2020 on Saturday.
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Portugal were thrashed 2-4 by Germany on Saturday, leaving the Group F race wide open at Euro 2020. The defending champions appeared a shadow of their typical self after an outstanding opening day triumph over Hungary, as the Germans opened their Euro 2020 account in rampant form. The only positive from an otherwise disappointing evening was Cristiano Ronaldo’s impressive performance. The Juventus forward was yet again Portugal’s star of the match, scoring one and assisting another. However, it was his age-defying fitness levels that caught the eye. The 36-year-old sprinted across the length of the pitch in less than 15 seconds for the first goal, leaving the fans spellbound.
After being called one of the tournament’s favourites, Germany had a poor start to the European Championship, losing 0-1 to Euro 2016 finalists France. More than the result, it was their disappointing performance that sent shockwaves across Europe. With their knockout place on the line, Joachim Low’s team demonstrated their potential with a dominating outing against Portugal on Saturday. Germany started briskly and found the back of the net in no time when Gosens turned in Matthias Ginter’s cross at the back post, but an offside flag against Serge Gnabry left the hosts frustrated.
Their frustration heightened when Portugal took the lead against the run of play. In the 14th minute, the high-flying German side won a corner-kick, increasing the pressure on Portugal. The home side’s defenders Mats Hummels and Antonio Rudiger were present in the Portugal box, attempting to get at the end of Toni Kroos’ cross.
However, a brilliant Portuguese counter-attack, launched and finished by Ronaldo, took the Germans off guard. The 36-year-old cleared the corner kick in his own penalty box which was then picked up by Bernardo Silva. The Manchester City attacker dashed up the pitch with the ball and sent a precise long ball to Diogo Jota on the left flank.
The Liverpool wide player beautifully took the ball under control and squared it for Ronaldo, who sprinted all the way from the other end of the pitch to tap it in an empty net. During his stunning 92-meter run, the 36-year-old defied age to hit a top speed of 32 km per hour. The entire process took him just 14.2 seconds as the German players and fans were left stunned in the stadium.
36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo cleared the ball from his own box and sprinted ahead of everyone on the pitch to score the opening goal for Portugal in less than 15 seconds. ?
The GOAT.pic.twitter.com/fP9pA5vDf6
— Mu. (@FutbolMuu) June 19, 2021
Meanwhile, Ronaldo has matched another record after equalling former German striker Miroslav Klose’s tally when it comes to combined goals at World Cups and European Championships. Ronaldo’s breath-taking goal was his 19th at the two major international tournaments.
Besides, it was Ronaldo’s 107th international goal. He is now only two goals shy of former Iran striker Ali Daei’s tally of 109 international goals. Saturday also marked the first time that he ever scored a goal against Germany. As for the game was concerned, the Germans, undeterred by the disappointment, fought back impressively and went in front, thanks to two own goals in the space of four minutes in the first half.
The second half started in a similar fashion as Robin Gosens set up the third goal immediately after the break with an inviting ball that allowed Havertz to score from a close range. Following that, the Atalanta wing-back rounded off a fantastic evening by heading in Germany’s fourth goal.
Jota pulled one back from Ronaldo’s cutback to reduce the deficit, but the defending champions were unable to mount a comeback. In the final round of fixtures in Group F, France play Portugal and Germany take on Hungary.
? The flick, the no-look backheel pass…
Ronaldo dazzling ?@HisenseSports | #EUROSkills | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/vLsMIt7XUh
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 19, 2021
