Portugal took to the pitch against Sweden with a much reduced attacking threat than usual as they were without their leading goal scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Os Navegadores skipper testing positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and subsequently went into a period of quarantine and was hence forced to sit out the Nations League Group C clash.
CR7 not playing is without a doubt a disadvantage for the team, but it did not seem so on Wednesday night.
Fernando Santos’s men recorded a resounding 3-0 victory against the Swedes with Diogo Jota taking up the talismanic responsibility in his captain’s absence.
Speaking after the match, Bruno Fernandes claimed that his side did not put much effort into changing their tactics in order to compensate for the non-availability of Ronaldo.
“We were not asked to play any differently [without Ronaldo], our ambition remains the same,” Fernandes told reporters, via Goal.
However, the Manchester United midfielder did go on to suggest that they could have possibly won by an even larger with the prolific forward in the line-up.
Fernandes added: “The team has great values but it is obvious that it is easier to win with the best in the world.”
