International Friendly: Ronaldo scores as Portugal thrash Andorra


International Friendly: Ronaldo scores as Portugal thrash Andorra
Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal routed Andorra 7-0 in an international friendly at the Estadio da Luz stadium in Portugal. There were five different goal scorers for Portugal with Neto and Paulinho getting goals on their debut. Moreover, Ronaldo scored his 102nd international goal as he looks to break Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals. This match was good practice for Portugal as they face France in the next fixture of the UEFA nations league.

ADVERTISEMENT

First Half

Pedro Neto

Portugal just took eight minutes to go ahead as Neto hit a half volley into the top corner. Moreover, they continued to probe and got the second through Paulinho as he got a tap in from a cross after getting in front of the defender. The Andorra goalkeeper made some good saves to prevent Portugal from scoring more and kept the score line at 2-0.

Second Half

The Portugal coach sent on Ronaldo in the second half with the player having just recovered from the ankle injury in the match against Lazio with Juventus. This turned the team on and they rapidly got two goals within five minutes from Renato Sanches and Paulinho. Sanches finally got into the scoresheet after four years for Portugal with his last goal coming against Poland in 2016. Portugal didn’t stop attacking despite having such a huge lead and Andorra crumbled under the pressure and conceded an own goal through Garcia.

Cristiano finally got the goal he was searching and hit his 102nd international goal for Portugal from a header in the 85th minute. He just needs to score 8 more goals to break the record of 109 goals by Ali Daei for Iran. Meanwhile, Portugal coach was delighted with the win and said, “It was what we expected. We faced a very defensive team and we had to be patient. “We wanted to give minutes to players, let them pick up some rhythm.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Also Read: International friendly: Netherlands vs Spain ends all square