“Maybe they don’t trust Ronaldo” - England legend highlights Portugal superstar refusing to pass to Cristiano Ronaldo in 2-1 win vs Czech Republic
England legend Stuart Pearce believes Bernardo Silva was reluctant to pass the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic on Tuesday, June 18.
On the night, Roberto Martinez's side ended up victorious after coming from a goal down and earning the winner in stoppage time. Before their turnaround, the Portuguese players didn't seem at their best in the first half, where they created few clear-cut chances.
A factor that may have contributed to this display is possibly a reluctance to play the ball to Ronaldo. Pointing this out at the halftime break, Pearce told talkSPORT:
"This might sound ridiculous but they don't trust Ronaldo enough to keep supplying him with the ball, that type of thing. There's been multiple times in the game where he's shown to feet and they've not popped the ball into his feet."
He added:
"There was one with Bernardo Silva, it was one of those rogue passes that got cut. Bernardo Silva had it in the centre circle, Ronaldo peeled off in an inside-right position.
"I'm thinking, 'if this was 10 years ago, you slide it in front of him and you know full well he's going to get there and score.' He denied the pass and I found that quite strange."
To date, Silva and Ronaldo have shared the pitch 66 times across all competitions for Portugal, managing just eight joint goal contributions. The pair will start in their team's next group match against Turkey on Saturday, June 22.
Breaking down Cristiano Ronaldo's performance in Portugal's first win of Euro 2024
As expected, Cristiano Ronaldo got the nod to start Portugal's Euro 2024 opener against the Czech Republic. However, he wasn't able to massively influence the proceedings and failed to get on the scoresheet during this tie.
Despite that, the Al-Nassr striker managed to keep his passing tidy and did not miss any of his 22 passes in his match. He created one big chance and made two key passes. Ronaldo won just one of his four aerial duels and lost his only battle in the air.
The 39-year-old attacker managed four shots overall, with three finding the target. His best chance came in the first half, where the former Manchester United man failed to find the net from close range. He attempted just one dribble and failed to successfully complete it.