Cristiano Ronaldo was bruised and bloodied in a collision with the Czech goalkeeper as Portugal cruised to a 4-0 win on Saturday night.
Portugal are well on course to make it to the UEFA Nations League finals. They have only lost one game in the competition this year – a 1-0 loss to Switzerland. Despite that loss, they remain top of Group 2 ahead of Spain and Switzerland.
On Saturday, A Selecao was in fine form, as they thrashed the Czech Republic 4-0 to maintain their place at the top of group 2. The win over the Czech Republic was not without its casualty as captain of the Portugal side Cristiano Ronaldo was in dreadful condition following a collision with the opposing goalkeeper.
Cristiano Ronaldo was bloodied and bruised.
Portugal needed a win over the Czech Republic to remain in the hunt for a place in the UEFA Nations League final. Before the encounter, the Iberian side were a point behind group leaders Spain and needed a win to stay within touching distance of the one-time World Cup winners.
Portugal, however, went top of the group after a convincing 4-0 win, while Switzerland handed the momentum to A Selecao by defeating Spain 2-1.
Ronaldo failed to score in the victory over the Czech Republic but also served his teammates a scare. The Manchester United striker, in his search for a goal, collided with the opposing goalkeeper.
Following his challenge with Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik, as he went for a high ball, Ronaldo became the main casualty in the collision with the shot-stopper. In fairness to Vaclik, he made a decent attempt to get the ball clear off his penalty area, but he appeared to have accidentally caught Ronaldo with his elbow.
Ronaldo was left flattened by the collision and needed medical attention to sort him out. The 37-year-old Portuguese star had large amounts of blood in and around his nose. He looked dazed and remained on the turf as medics attended to him.
A long season for Ronaldo
It was a tough evening for Ronaldo as all his efforts to increase his international tally proved abortive. The former Real Madrid star topped a miserable night with a glaring miss with the game still goalless.
Portugal had United teammates Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes to thank for first-half goals that gave A Selecao a comfortable lead into the break.
Cristiano Ronaldo is going through one of his worst seasons at Old Trafford and has struggled for game time and goals. During the summer, Ronaldo failed to secure a move away from the Red Devils. The last four Premier League games for Manchester United have seen the forward start from the bench following his failure to score in the top flight this season.
The only goal Ronaldo has scored this season came in the Europa League game against Sheriff before the international break. Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot to give United a 2-0 win. The Portuguese forward is still building his season following a disrupted pre-season.
The failure to qualify for the Champions League motivated Ronaldo to seek a departure from Old Trafford. Not many clubs were willing to take a punt on a player who earns £500,000 per-week wages.
