11th September, 2023
Portugal, playing without star man, Cristiano Ronaldo crushed Luxembourg 9-0 on Monday in the UEFA European Championship Qualifiers.
Ronaldo is suspended and did not play the match. He had scored a brace in the reverse fixture in Luxembourg.
Hoping the suspension of Cristiano Ronaldo, would prove to be a good omen amid their three-match winning streak, Luxembourg held strong until Bruno Fernandes took hold of proceedings.
Luc Holtz’s men were undone when the midfielder sent a terrific cross towards Gonçalo Inacio, who rose high to head in the first, before Gonçalo Ramos made the most of a defensive mishap by burying a low drive soon after.
Trailing by two goals inside the opening 20 minutes set the tone for the visitors, who were themselves no strangers to defying the odds.
A wonderful sprint and assist by Rafael Leao allowed the ex-Benfica striker to control the ball effortlessly before unleashing a strike through Anthony Morris’ legs.
Luxembourg were then left shattered on the brink of half time, when Fernandes once again fed Inacio for a header to make it 4-0 in favour of the hosts.
While the Red Lions went out in search of at least a consolation following the break, things got even worse on the hour mark.
Fernandes engineered a splendid over-the-top assist for Diogo Jota, who broke through the visiting backline and caught Morris off his line with a well-executed finish.
Jota then turned provider for substitute Ricardo Horta’s brilliant first-time effort from the edge of the box, before taking the responsibility to net Portugal’s seventh with a cracking finish following a displaced pass.
Taking it up two notches from their 6-0 drubbing of the visitors back in March, Portugal eventually forced visiting manager Holtz to take a walk back to the dressing room six minutes before full time when they struck an emphatic eighth of the evening.
This time, it was Fernandes who got on the scoresheet with a calm finish after receiving the ball from Horta.
However, the best finish of the evening was saved until last as Joao Felix executed a brilliant solo effort to cap Portugal’s sixth unbeaten run in the qualifier.