Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to deliver as the talisman of Portugal at the time of requirement and he did it in the most Ronaldo way possible. 3-3 was the scoreline for Hungary v/s Portugal and CR7 put on a show to remember with 2 goals and 1 assist.
The highest scoring match so far at EURO 2016 started well for Portugal as they tried to pile on the early pressure on Hungary in search for a goal. Ronaldo and Nani tried to combine but there were no goals or much intensity to report in the opening stages.
Portugal had 5 corners in the first 16 minutes but the first opportunity surprisingly fell to Hungary as a poor corner clearance let the ball go to Zoltán Gera who shot a mean half volley past Rui Patricio to put Hungary ahead in the 19th minute. Portugal was stunned, CR7 was frustrated but this was just the start of things to come.
Ronaldo had a free-kick saved in the 29th minute as Portugal continued to search for an equalizer.
Ronaldo then showed a moment of pure class as he played a sublime through ball to Nani and assisted him for his 2nd goal of the tournament as Nani shot past Kiraly at the near post to equalize for the Portuguese in the 41st minute. 1-1. Game on.
The second half started brilliantly for both teams as plenty of attacking opportunities flew in but then again, Hungary capitalized and scored via a deflected free-kick as the shot by Dzsudzsak took an unfortunate touch from Andre Gomes before wrong footing the keeper and flying into the back of the net. 2-1.
And just when the critics were almost proven right, the big man stepped up, shut them up and delivered for his country. After some good passing from Portugal, João Mário sent in a cross from the right for Cristiano Ronaldo and Ronaldo showed his masterclass by flicking the ball behind his front leg using his right foot and sent it into the far left corner. Portugal was level again. 2-2. And my, it was a special goal by Ronaldo.
Hungary again took the lead and made it 3-2, this time again via Dzsudzsak, as his initial attempt via a free-kick came off the wall but his second left footed shot sailed into the net after two deflections. Yes, Hungary led Portugal. Again!
With all said and done, it wasn’t over. Not for Portugal. Not for Ronaldo.
Quaresma and Renato Sanches had impressed for Portugal and it was the former’s first-touch cross that floated in and Ronaldo showed his brilliance yet again by rising the highest and scoring a bullet header to make it 3-3 for Portugal and scoring his 2nd goal of the night and EURO 2016.
They asked him to deliver and he did so with sheer class.
Hungary almost went ahead again but the post denied Szalai and the final minutes of the game barely saw any action as both the teams looked satisfied and content with a draw.
The final scoreline read 3-3. It was the highest-scoring game in the tournament so far with some scintillating goals and yet again, it was the one man from Portugal who grabbed the headlines – Cristiano Ronaldo, who had become the first player in the world to score in 4 consecutive European Championships with 2 brilliant goals and still counting.
Portugal had qualified into the Round of 16 along with Iceland and Hungary.
It was a memorable match that had set the stage for things to come.
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