Hungary 0-3 Portugal: 5 Talking Points as Cristiano Ronaldo takes center stage for reigning champions | UEFA Euro 2020
For the first time in over a year, a game of football was watched by a fully-filled stadium in Europe. The Puskas Arena in Budapest was the venue, as Hungary and Portugal locked horns in an intriguing Group F encounter. The opening act of Portugal's title defense began in some style, as a late flurry of goals saw them record a 3-0 victory.
The Hungary fans turned up in huge numbers to cheer their players on, but Portugal dominated proceedings and created two big chances in the opening exchanges. However, they were unable to break the deadlock, with Diogo Jota going closest to scoring.
The Liverpool attacker could've played Cristiano Ronaldo clean through on goal, but he risked his captain's wrath by taking on a shot from outside the penalty area that was comfortably saved by Peter Gulacsi. Ronaldo himself fluffed a gilt-edged opportunity to score the opening goal of the game, as he inexplicably missed from six yards out after getting on the end of a Bruno Fernandes cross.
Portugal saw a lot of the ball in the first half and created chances aplenty, but their attackers let them down in front of goal, as they went into the interval with the scores level.
Hungary grew into the game in the second half and threatened to cause an upset, but it was Portugal who broke the deadlock late in the game, albeit in fortunate circumstances. Raphael Guerreiro will claim the goal, but his shot landed up in the back of the net via a deflection, as the home side suffered a devastating blow late in the game.
The situation demanded Cristiano Ronaldo to rise to the occasion, and he did so in some style late in the game. The Portugal captain scored his first of the game from the penalty spot after Rafa Silva was brought down inside the box. He followed it up with a cool finish in stoppage time, as he took his international goal tally up to 106.
Hungary will feel hard done by and will argue that the scoreline is incredibly harsh, but such is the nature of tournament football that a team can be punished in a matter of minutes.
On that note, here are five talking points as Portugal began their title defense with a 3-0 victory in Budapest.
#5 Europe sees a full capacity stadium for the first time since March 2020
The Puskas Arena in Budapest hosted 67,000 fans, as they turned up in large numbers to support Hungary against the reigning European Champions.
Since March 2020, games across Europe have been played either behind closed doors or with a limited capacity of fans, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the continent. However, a fully packed stadium in Budapest witnessed the Euro 2020 encounter between Hungary and Portugal, indicating that there is a semblance of normalcy around the corner.
In the words of the great Jock Stein, football is nothing without the fans.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo makes European Championships history with Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late brace to take his international goal tally up to 106, as he edged closer to beating Iranian icon Ali Daei's record of 109. The Portugal captain also broke two more records in what turned out to be a historic night for him.
The 36-year-old became the first player in history to feature in five different editions of the European Championships, while he became the most decorated goalscorer in the competition's history with 11 goals to his name.
The Juventus hitman just can't stop breaking records and looks set to play a pivotal role for Portugal in the games ahead, as they look to defend their crown at Euro 2020.
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