Cristiano Ronaldo exits but does not have the look of a man whose race is run | Jonathan Wilson
27-Jun-2021 21:58:13 | The Guardian
He may have lost a battle of fine margins with Romelu Lukaku in Seville, but at 36 Ronaldo has shown in this tournament he is still an asset to Portugal and beyond
Three minutes before half-time, Romelu Lukaku turned in the centre-circle and made another arcing run. He had been making them all half, and would go on making them, but had touched the ball only nine times, less than half as many as any other outfielder. This time, though, the ball arrived, via Thorgan Hazard’s clip over the top, and he was able to hold off Rúben Dias and gather. For pretty much the first time in the game, Belgium had the ball in a dangerous area and Portugal were not set.
Lukaku held it up and, although Kevin De Bruyne lost possession, the lack of Portuguese organisation meant when the ball broke to Hazard he had time to line up a shot. It was not a goal for Lukaku, nor an assist. There will be statistical models that mark him down for the pass to De Bruyne that led to the ball briefly being lost. But he was critical to the goal. Playing as a striker is supposed to be about glory, but it’s about a whole lot more.
Related: Thorgan Hazard strike sinks Portugal and puts Belgium in quarter-finals
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