Cristiano Ronaldo in Prague: the nice guy next door. He discussed the penalty with Souček
Yes, he was “to blame”. Undoubtedly. The Nations League soccer match sold out quickly. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo came to Eden. What did he show – that is, besides the fact that he led the team to a clear 4:0 win over the Czech national team despite a bloody injury to his face?
Let’s forget for a moment about his reputation as a nabob, an egomaniac, a filmmaker. At Eden, Ronaldo proved to be a nice guy on the sidelines.
Already at the beginning he waved to the stands, the response was stormy. When starting, he was the only one of all the players to go around the little fliers, in Czech jerseys, who had the honor of experiencing the anthems and the moments before the match with both teams.
As if he wanted to confirm the words of Sparta goalkeeper and Czech 21-year-old Matěj Kovář, who met him recently in the cabin and during training sessions at Manchester United: “He is a great guy, he cares about others.”
The Portuguese actually did it in Prague as well. At the beginning of the second half, he met Patrik Schick in the center circle for a few moments. The stars of the dinner debated, speaking in English, not Italian, even though the two had met some time ago in Serie A.
Czechia–PORTUGALData source: Wyscout |
||
1.57 | xG (expected goals) | 1.82 |
43% | Holding the ball | 57% |
8/0 | Shots/on goal | 13/5 |
443/377 | Passes/accurate | 575/503 |
6 | Corners | 5 |
2 | Offsides | 1 |
2 | Fouls | 6 |
0/0 | Yellow/red cards | 0/0 |
38/7 | Attacks/with missile | 44/13 |
Ronaldo discussed the penalty with Schick, which he had already missed at the end of the half. “He told me that you could see how bent I was,” Schick described. That was exactly why he overshot. Advice from Ronaldo can definitely come in handy, he is a master of free kicks. In his career, he kicked 174 of them, 145 of them ended with a goal. So far, Schick has a significantly less rich (even successful) record: 8 penalties, five goals.
He started the debate with other Czech opponents. Before Schick’s penalty, he played with his hand at the very moment he was discussing with captain Tomáš Souček, known from the Premier League. The Portuguese was showing him how the ball hit him. He probably also suspected that the video referee would decide in favor of the home team.
During the calls with the S + S duo, Ronaldo already had a bloody line on his face. Tomáš Vaclík had a broken nose from a collision with the Czech goalkeeper for about twelve minutes. “I think it was a palm. There was a high ball, I played the ball first and then we collided. I hope I didn’t break his nose because it was bleeding quite a lot. But above all, I’m glad that we both managed to finish the game, because we fell quite badly,” described Vaclík. “I had a good time with him right after the collision, and after the match I was still in the cabin to ask him how he was doing. He said that a good…”
Group 2
OF | AGAINST | R | P | Score | B | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Portugal |
5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 11:2 | 10 | |
2. Spain |
5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7:5 | 8 | |
3. Switzerland |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4:8 | 6 | |
4. Czechia |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4:11 a.m | 4 |