Match Review: Portugal v. Spain

Portugal v Spain
Score: 3-3
Goals: Ronaldo 4'(p) Costa 24' Ronaldo 44' Costa 55' Nacho 58' Ronaldo 88'
Possession: 33-67
Shots: 9-13


Man of the match: Cristiano Ronaldo (3G)


In one of the best matches in recent World Cup history, Spain and Portugal split points in Sochi. Right from the first whistle Portugal blitzed Spain. They were getting runners forward with ease and Spain really struggled to deal with the pressure. Eventually the ball was played to Cristiano Ronaldo who was isolated on the left side of the box with Real Mardid teammate Nacho. Ronaldo took him on and skinned him which lead to Nacho putting in a bad challenge and Ronaldo going down. It was a clear penalty with very obvious contact onto the shins of Ronaldo. Ronny stepped up and banged it into the right corner sending De Gea the wrong way. And with only 3 minutes on the clock Portugal took the lead.  The first half continued as Portugal decided to sit back. This let Spain take control and get back into the match. Vintage Spain was appearing with their usual pass and move football. 20 minutes after the Ronaldo goal Spain was finally able to find an equalizer. A long ball was played up to Diego Costa who won the ball in the air and brought it down. He was able to body off three Spain defenders with strength and good footwork and eventually slotted it home fantastically into the bottom left corner. It was a brilliant solo effort but it didn't come without controversy. When the initial long ball was played Costa unsuspectingly elbowed Pepe when going for the ball. The officials considered going to VAR but the goal was not overturned. Spain continued to control possession after the equalizer. Their possession lead to a ridiculous volleyed strike by Isco from outside the box. The ball was cleared to him and he hit the ball so sweetly just for it to hit off the crossbar and bounce of the line. Though there were many appeals by the Spaniards the appeals were left to no avail as the call was pretty clear when looked at on VAR. Spain continued the pressure as Jordi Alba was played in beautifully down the left hand side. Alba was able to get to the byline and  squared the ball to veteran midfielder Andres Iniesta. Iniesta hit it on his least preferred foot as it rolled just past the far post. Then against the run of play Portugal took the lead through who else, but Cristiano Ronaldo. They found the goal on the counter attack when the ball was played to Ronaldo right on the edge of the box. The ballon dor winner fired a good strike right at De Gea but unfortunately for the Spaniard it rolled off his hands and into the back of the net. It was a poor mistake from arguably the best keeper in the world. This gave Portugal a 2-1 lead going into the half. Portugal would've been delighted going into the half really taking their chances well. Spain would've felt hard done by, but still very confident as they've shown they can really break down this Portugal side. The second half started with much of the same with Spain controlling possession and Portugal waiting to pounce on the counter attack. In the 55th minute due to some trickery by Andres Iniesta, Portugal conceded a free kick in a dangerous position. The ball was sent into the back post by David Silva and was met by Sergio Busquets who headed it across right to Diego Costa who forced it home for the equalizer. Then just three minutes later Spain were on the attack again. The ball gets knocked around in the box and cleared to the outside of the box right to Nacho who made amends from the first half with a volleyed wonderstrike in off the post. It was an out of this world strike that gave Spain the lead and with the control they were showing in possession it looked like they could see it out. It looked that way for the next 30 or so minutes. With Spain playing the ball around the Portuguese midfield for fun. But then a poor free kick was conceded by Barcelona man Gerard Pique on Ronaldo which gave Portugal a free kick right outside the box. Ronaldo stepped up and cometh the hour cometh the man. Ronaldo curls it perfectly around the wall and nestled the ball into the top right hand corner. This sent the Portuguese into euphoria. The match finished 3-3 and many superlatives cannot describe the match or the performance by Cristiano Ronaldo. For both teams the draw doesn't hurt too much as both face weaker sides in their next coming days.