Denmark thought they had earned a valuable point at home to Portugal in their Euro 2016 Group I clash in Copenhagen on Tuesday, but Cristiano Ronaldo popped up in stoppage-time to deny both gravity and the Danes.
The Real Madrid forward had a quiet night until he burst into life in the dying moments, first getting booked in the final minute of regulation time before jumping up and seemingly hanging in the air before powering home the winner deep into extra-time.
“That’s Cristiano Ronaldo — he has everything,” dejected Denmakr defender Simon Kjaer told reporters after the 1-0 defeat. “He’s probably still hanging up there and he’s putting that goal in and it’s very frustrating.
Photo: EPA
Kjaer took the lion’s share of the responsibility for shackling the Portugal captain during the game and looked to have succeeded as it drew to a close, until, suddenly, Ronaldo struck.
“That situation at the end? He’s a world-class striker; he wasn’t having his biggest game, which is a compliment for us, but compliments to him for dealing with that cross that well. Frustrating for us,” Kjaer said.
His sentiments were shared by rightback Lars Jacobsen, who had to deal with Ronaldo occasionally roaming out to his wing on a wet night in Copenhagen.
“That goal was a glimpse of his class, that header was superb,” Jacobsen said.
For most of the night, the hosts managed to stop the Portuguese star setting off on his trademark surging runs, with an unfortunate slip by Daniel Agger offering him his only opportunity to attack at pace.
In the end, it was a set-piece that he scored from, which prompted coach Morten Olsen to call his team “unprofessional,” but Jacobsen preferred to give the Real attacker credit for his execution.
“When he jumps that early and stays in the air that long, it’s difficult for the defender and the goalkeeper. It’s just his class, we see it week after week,” Jacobson said.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS