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| Edited By: Pranav Joshi |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 29, 2017, 06:11 PM IST
FULL-TIME Portugal have stunned Argentina here. What seemed an Argentina-dominated game in the first half and a very dull one in the second was rescued by one brilliant Guerrero header in the dying moments. Argentina did not get a chance to come back, but Portugal are ecstatic at having beaten the World Cup finalists after 42 years. Argentina 0-1 Portugal.
90 + 1' GOAL! Raphael Guerrero scores for Portugal! A great play in the Argentine penalty area. Guerrero finds a perfect header off a resulting cross from the right flank. An RVP-style header flies into the goal past a diving keeper!
89' Portugal are now making several runs into the Argentine half but failing to break the defence. However, they are also doing quite poorly on set pieces.
88' Portugal almost score and break Argentine hearts! Alves launched a wonderful pass over to Quaresma in the right flank, and the Porto man then sends a brilliant cross into the heart of the penalty area that almost finds the feet of Eder.
The game is coming to a tame end here in Manchester, but if it ends in a draw, Argentina will be the more disappointed of the two teams.
86' Nani and Demichelis clash near the byline on the right wing after a strong challenge from the Portugal man, resulting in a slight scuffle between the two players.
84' A good play between Gaitan and Tevez now fails to produce a final ball at all. Gaitan made a good run through the left and sent in a cross to Tevez. Tevez through, missed the direction a bit and had to go back to gather it. He cut through a couple of defenders but then decided not to take on the rest, passing the ball tamely to Gaitan. This is where Messi is missed.
81' Erik Lamela of Argentina gets a yellow card, and Portugal earn a free kick. However, it is a very poor attempt and the ball is played out into the midfield with ease. Portugal have had fewer chances today from set pieces but they haven't even threatened with the ones they have had.
77' Portugal have rarely threatened in the Argentine penalty area even though they have the crowd behind them. Argentina for their part, seem to be developing a tendency to fail to score.
75' A brilliant cross from the corner flag on the left wing almost finds the head of Gaitan in front of goal, but he ends up missing the ball by a few inches.
Meanwhile, the Spain-Germany match is also petering out into a seemingly dull draw, or at least it's headed that way. Both teams are yet to score.
73' Another substitution for Argentina as Roberto Pereyra comes in for Pastore.
Fans have begun to vent their ire on Twitter as the game slows down after the exits of Messi and Ronaldo:
What disappointment of a game...after all the hype! I'm Done! #ARGvsPOR
— iMan (@_AningYeboah) November 18, 2014
67' Mascherano and Ansaldi now combine to give Portugal some tense moments. Fantastic ball by Mascherano finds Ansaldi's header, which is barely kept out by the Portuguese defence wide of the post. It goes for a corner to Argentina. Portugal keep that out as well.
64' Erik Lamela has been brought in for Angel Di Maria. The entire Argentine attack has been changed.
63' Mascherano sends an absolutely wonderful lofted ball over the top of the Portugal defence and onto the head of Gaitan, but he ends up sending his headed effort just wide of the far post.
61' Higuain has been substituted, he's had a poor game. In comes Carlos Tevez.
60' Another Argentine attack through the Portuguese half, and another disappointment. This time though, Di Maria wasn't in the penalty area. His shot was firm but straight into the hands of Beto.
59' Nani darts through the middle of the Argentine midfield before sending the ball out to Guerreiro on the left flank, but he's dispossessed by a brilliant tackle from Roncaglia.
55' A slow start to the second half, with neither side able to grab a hold of the game yet, resulting in both trying to keep possession in the middle of the pitch.
Meanwhile, this fan makes a snide reference to Higuain celebrating the offside goal against Germany in the World Cup Final:
Saw Higuain still celebrating his offside goal in today's match. #ARGvsPOR
— Dileep Krishna (@benigntumour) November 18, 2014
53' Raphaël Guerreiro has substituted Gomes even as Higuain and Maria continue their attacks into the Portuguese half without finding a good final ball.
52' The crowd has gone very quiet after the substitution of Messi and Ronaldo.
50' Gomes is coming off for Portugal. He may have pulled a hamstring. Portugal are now without FIVE left-backs.
48' Higuain, who made a run through the left and into the Portugal penalty area, was offside, and he knew it before he shot.
47' Jose Fonte comes in for Pepe for Portugal. Danny is substituted by Eder as well.
46' Argentina kick off in the second half
46' Both Ronaldo and Messi have been substituted! The fun is over for the crowd. N Gaitan comes in for Messi, and Quaresma for Ronaldo.
Now there's no use watching #ARGvsPOR
— DVNTX_ (@LVRD_DANTE) November 18, 2014
HALF-TIME At half-time, Argentina have failed to score despite being very dominant. Messi and Di Maria both had reasonably difficult chances that they failed to convert. Ronaldo had one tough chance for Portugal. However, Argentina really have attacked the Portuguese half and moved into the penalty area with plenty of aggression on a number of occasions. Argentina 0-0 Portugal at half time.
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45' And now Biglia is back on the field.
44' Biglia has been heavily taken down by Ronaldo, perhaps by accident. Ronaldo's volley from Nani's cross was faulty. He missed the ball completely and hit Biglia in the stomach instead! Biglia is now coming off the field after receiving some treatment.
41' Gomes of Portugal flies down the left wing with the ball before whipping a cross towards Ronaldo, but it's sent slightly near to Guzman, who is easily able to cut out the danger.
37' Messi is causing a lot of problems for Portugal down the right flank, but he has been unable to convert his chances into goals so far. The finish hasn't been spectacular.
36' Higuain messes up an attack, not for the first time. He receives a ball from Messi. He shoots straight into the path of a Portuguese defender near the penalty area, and Portugal clear.
I hate when Higuaín misses that that. #argvspor #friendlies
— Nupur Tailor (@nupurtailor410) November 18, 2014
34' Portugal are slowly regaining some possession and trying to make frequent runs into the Argentine penalty area. Apart from Ronaldo's miss though, there hasn't been a firm goal-scoring opportunity.
32' It's now Argentina who get a free kick, as Joao Moutinho takes down Pastore with gumption. Messi takes the free kick, but it flies over the goal. Beto though was flying in the right direction as well. Oh wait, it grazed the top of the goal.
31' Ansaldi of Argentina gets a yellow card for a challenge on Ronaldo. To be fair he tried to pull out of it in the end. But Ronaldo tumbled over a bent Ansaldi and went down.
29' Ronaldo...almost scores! He almost single-handledly takes on the Argentine defence, who force him to run back and forth with the ball. He nearly throws Biglia off, but then shoots over the goal. Relief for Argentina.
27' Pastore! A great cross from the right flank drives the ball into the Portuguese penalty area, and meets Pastore's header. The keeper Beto was all over the place but managed to block it quite easily in the end.
23' Di Maria takes a ball from the Portugal right and passes it to Higuain in the left flank, but after a tussle, Dani Alves clears it.
21' Argentina hold 76% of the possession as compared to Portugal's 24%. Their passing accuracy is also higher at 91%.
20' Di Maria is receiving some treatment after Nani tackled him from a rather weird position with his left foot. It looked like Nani was watching the ball more, he certainly seems concerned.
Nani be like 'If I can't play for Manchester United, no one will...' http://t.co/Jy6WzGpNLR
— Football Vines (@FootballVines) November 18, 2014
14' Ronaldo, Pepe and Dani make a play in the centre and try to squeeze the ball into the Argentine half, but the defence keeps it out without much trouble.
13' Messi is being booed very heavily by this partisan Manchester crowd. Everytime the ball passes to him he gets booed like there's no tomorrow.
12' Messi! He makes a superb run through the Portuguese right, avoids a few defenders in classic Messi fashion, but he has an extremely wide angle to shoot from. He takes the shot anyway, and nearly scores! The ball hits the right post at the bottom and then flies away in a parallel line to the goal, but not inside.
10' Portugal coax the ball through their half, and Ronaldo then attempts to shoot it into the Argentine left, but there is no one there to take it.
8' Portugal get a free kick, which is easily negotiated by the Argentine defence. They couldn't get past the first man.
7' Di Maria! After a struggle on the Portuguese right, the ball is passed to Messi in the centre who after a superb short run then passes it to Maria, who just fails to find the goal!
3' The majority of the fans are on Portugal's side this time, as Ronaldo once played for Man U. As he touches the ball, the stadium erupts.
1' And Portugal kick off in Old Trafford!
Welcome to the LIVE coverage of the Argentina-Portugal friendly which begins at Old Trafford, Manchester at 1:15 am IST.
The contest, though a mere friendly between two somewhat unequal teams, will be keenly watched only because it involves Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). The two best footballers in the world will lock horns in an attempt to outdo the other when their teams take to the pitch.
Cristiano Ronaldo has made no secret of the fact that he considers Messi a worthy competitor to the crown of being the best in the world. Messi seems to have lost some of his god-level form over the last year or so, and will be keen to get back to his best. In the recent Barcelona-Real Madrid tie, Ronaldo scored and Messi didn't, leading to Barcelona losing for the first time this season in La Liga.
Argentina will be playing without Marcos Rojo and Ezequiel Garay, who are out with injury. They will likely play a 4-3-1-2 combination. It could be: Romero – Ansaldi, Demichelis, Otamendi, Zabeleta – Maria, Mascheran, Perez – Messi – Tevez and Aguero.
Portugal on the other hand, will be without Eliseu, Vitorino Antunes and Fabio Coentra, and Helder Postiga may also not play. Their formation is likely to be 4-4-2: Patricio – Pepe, Carvalho, Guerreiro- Mouthinho, Tiago, Danny, Nani – Ronaldo and Eder.
For the complete match preview of the Argentina-Portugal friendly, click here
