Manchester United duo Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot both shone as Portugal ripped Poland to pieces 5-1.
The win confirmed the Portuguese as group winners after Croatia’s 1-0 defeat to Scotland in the Nations League.
Both players will be eager to impress as their compatriot, Ruben Amorim, has already arrived to Old Trafford and is expected to start work next Monday on the Carrington training pitches as United manager.
Fernandes has been in fine form lately, as he scored four goals and provided two assists in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s four matches as interim manager and kept up his fantastic showings with another goal for his country on Friday night.
The United skipper collected the ball and ran at the Polish defence before releasing a sumptuous strike from distance that gave Marcin Bulka no chance, as it rifled into the top corner of the net.
Sofascore gave Fernandes an impressive score of 8.1 as he played the full 90 minutes, scoring one goal and having 83 touches of the ball. He was also very careful in possession, completing 54 of his 61 passes for a completion percentage of 89%.
Fernandes had three key passes in the match as he was a creative spark for his national side. He completed three crosses as well as 70% of his long ball attempts.
The 30 year old also missed another big chance to add to his international goal tally and had two shots off target as he proved a constant thorn in the side of the Polish defence.
He contributed defensively too, working hard for his side by making three tackles and a clearance.
His club teammate Diogo Dalot also impressed and was given a rating of 7.3 for his night’s work.
Dalot made one clearance, one interception and one tackle for his side, who were rarely tested in a dominant display.
The 25 year old won two out of his four ground duels and was incredibly precise on the ball as he made 45 out of his 47 passes for a pass competion percentage of 96%.
He made one key pass and had a shot off target and a further one blocked as he proved a serious contributor at both ends of the pitch.
With qualification for the knockout stages secure, Dalot and Fernandes may both be rested but if not, they will next be in action when Portugal travel to Croatia for their final group match on Monday night.
Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
