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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes produced another sensational performance as Portugal beat Turkey 3-0 at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday night.
Bernardo Silva opened the scoring in just the 21st minute when he unleashed a shot with his left foot from 15 meters after catching a loose ball inside the penalty area.
Portugal’s lead was doubled just before the half-hour mark through a comical defensive error by Turkey.
Fernandes secured victory for the Selecao in the second half when Cristiano Ronaldo played in behind the opposition defense before the striker sent the ball through to Fernandes, who had the goal at his mercy.
Portugal have won Group F and are now ready to advance to the knockout stages of the competition.
During his time on the field, Fernandes registered 55 touches of the ball. He successfully found his teammates with 30 of the 39 passes he attempted, managing a pass success rate of 77%.
The playmaker found his target with one of the two crosses he attempted and both long balls he pinged.
He had a total of three shots to his name. One was on target, while two were off target and did not test United team-mate Altay Bayindir at all, who was between the sticks for Turkiye.
Fernandes did not finish one dribble that he started.
The 29-year-old midfielder entered nine duels on the ground and was on top an impressive six times. He won one of the two aerial duels in which he participated.
Fernandes also blocked one shot and made three tackles.
(Statistics obtained from Sofa score)
It was certainly a complete and incredible performance by the Red Devils captain. Portugal’s next assignment will be against Georgia. With top spot in the group secured, the occasion will give Roberto Martinez the opportunity to rest his big players, including Fernandes.
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