The Germans came out flying in front on home soil and thought they got rewarded for their powerful start after five minutes.
But Robin Gosens’ goal from a tight angle was flagged offside.
Even though, Germany were dominating it was Portugal who broke the deadlock out of the blue as Christian Ronaldo showed no mercy and tapped home from a counter-attack 10 minutes later.
In spite of Portugal’s opener, Germany remained unimpressed and hit back with great assistance of the Portuguese.
They could not put up resistance in the 35th minute when Ruben Dias cleared Gosens’ dangerous low cross into the wrong goal to level the scores.
Germany were a menace with every attack while Portugal’s defence had their hands full as the game’s clock ticked.
The hosts eventually got rewarded for their efforts as Raphael Guerreiro accidentally diverted Joshua Kimmich’s shot across the goal into the wrong target six minutes before the break.
It could have been a higher advantage for Low’s men, but Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio was on guard twice to deny Gosens and Gnabry.
However, Ruiz Patricio was hapless after the restart.
Germany picked up where they left off and made it 3-1 through Kai Havertz, who tapped in Gosens’ cutback pass from close range in the 51st minute.
Portugal were not able to hold the pace and had to concede another goal after Kimmich’s pinpoint cross to the far post.
It allowed unmarked Gosens to get his name on the scoreboard at the hour mark.
The visitors’ resistance seemed broken, but Fernando Santos’ side halved the deficit out of thin air in the 67th minute.
That was when Ronaldo curled the ball into the path of Diogo Jota, who poked home from very close range.
Portugal sparked to life again but could not do more damage as Renato Sanches thunderstrike to the bar remained only a warning in the closing stages.
“At half-time I tried to change it, but we ended up conceding the third and fourth goals.
“We reduced it to 4-2, we had a ball against the post, one or two chances, but Germany also created danger. It was a fair victory for Germany,” said Portugal head coach Santos.
“Overall a great performance by my team in spite of our situation. The team showed great will, we created a lot of chances and I think it is a deserved 4-2 victory,” said Germany head coach Low.
With the result, France (four points) remain atop the standings in Group F followed by Germany (three points), Portugal (three points) and Hungary (one point).
With a win over Hungary on Wednesday, Germany can secure their progression while holders Portugal face a tough task with France. – Xinhua/NAN
– June 19, 2021 @ 12:23 GMT |
