Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes showed why he’s Portugal’s most important player going into this summer’s World Cup in North America by starring in a 2-1 friendly win over Chile in Lisbon on Saturday evening that featured a stupid red card for winger Rafael Leao and a worryingly ineffective display from Seleccao skipper Cristiano Ronaldo.
Leao went into the game on the back of a desperately frustrating season at AC Milan in which he struggled for both form and fitness, but he was arguably his side’s most dangerous forward during the opening 45 minutes. However, in injury time at the end of a scoreless first half, Leao needlessly got himself involved in a scuffle close to the right touchline and was shown a straight red card for lashing out at Ivan Ramon, who was also dismissed for his role in the clash.
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez made a host of changes at the break and two of them combined to break the deadlock, with Ruben Neves playing sublime through-ball for Ronaldo’s replacement, Goncalo Guedes, who finished smartly with the outside of his right boot after an excellent first touch.
Bruno then doubled Portugal’s advantage by sweeping home from outside the area after more good work by Guedes, and a deft lay-off from Francisco Conceicao. Chile pulled a goal back in the dying seconds through Lucas Cepeda, who beat Rui Silva with a low strike from 20 yards out, but the home side held on to win their penultimate pre-World Cup friendly.
Below, GOAL rates all of the Portugal players on show at the Estadio Nacional…