It was an inevitably mixed week for Portuguese participating in the Champions League, with Seleção internationals facing off against each other in the final matches of the last-16 first legs.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus will again have to overturn a deficit in their tie with Lyon, after losing 1-0 in France to Anthony Lopes’ side on Wednesday. On the same evening, Bernardo Silva and Manchester City produced an impressive 2-1 win at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, while Nélson Semedo was in fine form during Barcelona’s 1-1 draw at Mário Rui’s Napoli.
Juventus are looking to end a 24-year wait for their third European Cup and their hopes suffered a setback with the defeat at Lyon. The Italian champions failed to register a single shot on target during the evening, although there was a degree of misfortune about the conceding of Lucas Tousart’s winner, with Bianconeri defender Mathias De Ligt off the pitch receiving treatment at the time. Making the most of chance events is also the objective when visiting best online pokies real money.
Ronaldo, who was off target with a header in the dying moments, had a frustrating evening during which his appeals for a penalty after an alleged push were ignored. The result conjures up a familiar scenario for the Portugal captain, who last season rescued a 2-0 first-leg loss against Atletico Madrid at the same stage by scoring a hat-trick in the return meeting in Turin.
Lyon’s long-serving goalkeeper Anthony Lopes spoke to the media after the match, telling reporters: “We know that we can play with this quality. We got the result, it was what we expected and we didn't concede a goal which was one of our goals. It's a big win, but there’s still the other half of the tie. Our system has allowed us to press them so they couldn’t get too close to our goal. It was a collective effort.”
Semedo shines as Barca earn draw in Naples; Bernardo’s Madrid triumph
Two Portuguese full-backs faced off in direct competition on the pitch on Tuesday as Barcelona, with right-back Nélson Semedo, travelled to Italy to meet Napoli, who had Mário Rui at left-back. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, handing the advantage to the Spanish champions and Semedo played a starring role for his team.
The former Benfica man set up the goal for Antione Griezmann which drew Barca level on 57 minutes to cancel out Piotr Zielinski’s opener. Semedo recorded a 7.4 rating on statistical analysis site SofaScore which made him Barca’s second highest-scoring player after Lionel Messi. Meanwhile, Rui received some criticism after the match for his positioning during the goal, while also notable for his confrontation with Arturo Vidal late on which saw Barca’s Chilean midfielder red-carded.
🔎 | FOCUS@_nelsonsemedo_ vs Napoli:
— SofaScore🌐 (@SofaScoreINT) February 25, 2020
⏱️ 90' played
🅰️ 1 assist
👌 108 touches
👟 77/84 successful passes (91% accuracy)
🔭 2/2 long balls
⚔️ 5/7 duels won
❌ 2 tackles
📈 7.6 SofaScore rating
Strong performance from the right-back tonight! 💪#UCL pic.twitter.com/opWdgSzyS7
Perhaps the most high-profile clash of the week occurred in Spain’s capital, where the competition’s most successful club Real Madrid hosted Manchester City. The English champions came from behind to win 2-1 at the Bernabeu, having intrigued observers with Pep Guardiola’s tactical decisions for the occasion.
Portugal star Bernardo Silva was joined by Kevin De Bruyne in attacking roles as City played for much of the first half without a recognised forward line, with Brazilian Gabriel Jesus largely focused on attacking during transitions from a left-sided role. Bernardo was replaced on 72 minutes having had little major involvement in the game, but the result is a huge boost to City as they contemplate a ban from the competition next year due to UEFA sanctions.
By Sean Gillen
