Euro 2016: Hungary 3-3 Portugal - 5 talking points
In what was the game of Euro 2016 so far, Hungary and Portugal played out an incredible 3-3 draw with four goals coming in the second half in Lyon. It was a do-or-die match for the Portuguese side, who had not clicked in this tournament, but Fernando Santos’ team pulled through just when they needed to the most and ensured they just about made it to the knockout round of the competition.
It was Hungary who took the lead through an incredible effort from outside the box by Zoltan Gera. Portugal, though, equalised thanks to Nani before Balazs Dzsudzsak and Cristiano Ronaldo exchanged goals back and forth to make it 3-3.
Ronaldo did create history as he became the first player to score in four different Euro competitions, just days after breaking the record of having the most number of appearances for Portugal.
The draw was enough for Portugal to qualify as one of the third best-placed teams in the competition, while Hungary, surprisingly finished the group on top. Iceland finished as the second placed team in this group and it will be interesting to see how Portugal performs in the next stage of the competition.
The game had almost everything you want in a football match, from excellent defending in the first half to a glut of goals in the second, and we list out the five talking points from the entertaining tie.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo finally gets going
There was a lot riding on Ronaldo’s shoulders in this game, Portugal needed a win to guarantee a place in the round-of-16 and a draw could have seen them exit the tournament.
The Portuguese team have always relied on Ronaldo and he delivered just when they needed him to. After a quiet first half, where he did provide Nani with the assist for the first equaliser, the Real Madrid forward came to life to help Portugal get back level, twice.
The first goal was fantastic as Ronaldo flicked a ball past Gabor Kiraly via a back-heel and the second was breath-taking as he rose high to glance in a header. Portugal are through to the next round and Ronaldo seems to have found his scoring boots again, the other teams have been warned!