Bruno Fernandes has given his verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo being left out of the Portugal starting line-up.
Ronaldo was omitted from the Portugal side for their last 16 clash with Switzerland.
Portugal were not negatively impacted – they played better without the 37-year-old, winning the game 6-1.
Fernandes was among the star men, providing an assist and creating more chances than any player on the pitch.
Fernandes gives verdict on Cristiano Ronaldo being dropped
Portugal found what Manchester United did after the game. A stirring win was only half the story – all the talk was about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Fernandes told JN.pt after the game that he saw this big talking point coming.
He said: “Cristiano is very important to us, everyone knows that. We knew that the fact that he was left out was going to talk, everyone would ask why, but that’s decisions that fit the coach, the goal was to win.
“Cristiano is part of the team.”
He went on to add: “The performances have been good. The team will win many games if it continues like this, with this strength.”
Goncalo Ramos says Ronaldo helped
Goncalo Ramos stepped in to replace Ronaldo, and did so incredibly efficiently – scoring a hat-trick.
He claims Ronaldo was a help for him, commenting: “Cristiano spoke to me like he talks to everyone, he’s a captain and he always wants to help and everything went very well.”
Ronaldo came off the bench in the second half, and scored a goal which was disallowed for offside.
He looked upset after the game and had to be consoled by Diogo Dalot at the full-time whistle.
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