Portugal 5-0 Uzbekistan ratings: Nuno Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo shine | OneFootball

Portugal hammered Uzbekistan 5-0 in their second World Cup group match on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice as they moved closer to the last 32.

L'Équipe notes that Nuno Mendes and Cristiano Ronaldo headlined the tops with ratings of 7, as did Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix, while Ashurmatov and Chomourodov were the flops on 2.

Ronaldo missed an early opening on four minutes, before Mendes surprised the keeper with a crisp strike from a free-kick most expected Ronaldo to take on 17 minutes. The left-back’s influence grew throughout.

Fernandes then slipped a perfect pass for Ronaldo to score on 39 minutes. Chasing a treble, he was checked by Khuzanov in first-half added time, and on 58 minutes Nematov foiled him after a deft free-kick lob from Fernandes.

Felix, restored to the XI after sitting out the opener, knitted play inside and freed Mendes down the left before making way for Trincao on 63 minutes. Mendes might have had an assist, with late centres steered wide by Trincao on 90+3 and Ronaldo on 90+5.

Only Vitinha touched the ball more than Mendes. Ashurmatov struggled against runs in behind and in combination play, committing early fouls, while captain Chomourodov offered little link play and failed to hit the target.

Source: L'Équipe