Twitter erupts as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema score braces in Portugal's 2-2 draw against France
A brace each from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema saw the honors shared between Portugal and France in a pulsating Euro 2020 Group F match which ended 2-2. In a match which ebbed and flowed, both France and Portugal played at a high tempo and went all out to get the 3 points.
In a game which saw 3 penalties, Portugal opened the scoring through Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty in the 31st minute. The 5-time Ballon d'Or winner made no mistake from the spot after France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was adjudged to have fouled Danilo inside the box.
France soon had a penalty of their own after Semedo was harshly pulled up for tangling with Kylian Mbappe in the area. Replays showed minimal contact, but the referee stuck to his decision. Karim Benzema took the penalty in first-half stoppage time and made no mistake as he buried the ball past Rui Patricio to score his first goal since his international return for France.
Immediately after the restart, Karim Benzema got on the scoresheet once again as he converted Paul Pogba's immaculate through ball with an excellent finish. Although the goal was initially ruled out for offside, VAR replays showed that Benzema was in fact onside.
With Portugal staring at an early elimination, Cristiano Ronaldo had to be the main man once again. Ronaldo himself won the penalty after his cross struck the outstretched arm of France's right back, Jules Kounde. The resulting penalty was emphatically tucked away by Cristiano Ronaldo as he equalled Ali Daei's record for most goals in international football by grabbing his 109th goal for Portugal.
With the match at 2-2, Paul Pogba came closest to finding a winner. However, his long range shot was saved brilliantly by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Speaking after the match, France manager Didier Deschamps said:
"We were seeing the scoreline in the night's other match as Hungary were beating Germany, and it was making things very complicated. It was an insane match that went in all directions.
"I am really satisfied. Football is pure magic, from one situation to another the emotions can change so quickly. The morale of the team can change too. Tonight was pleasing even though not everything was perfect. It was a match on the top level."
The draw sees France take on Switzerland in the round of 16 while Portugal will square off against Belgium in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
Also read: Jim Beglin's column - Euro 2020: 5 young players who could become household names after the tournament
Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo stole all the headlines in last night's 2-2 draw as Ronaldo equalled yet another world record. Without further ado, let us take a look at:
Best Tweets from Portugal 2-2 France
Cristiano Ronaldo's goal scoring record for Portugal is just incredible
Karim Benzema looked sharp for France last night
Also read: Portugal 2-2 France: Player ratings as doubles from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema settle a nerve-wracking encounter