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Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot played all 90 minutes as Portugal suffered a 2-0 loss at the hands of Georgia in their final Group F clash of Euro 2024.
Georgia took an early lead with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia finding the back of the net just 93 seconds in. A dreadful pass from Benfica defender Antonio Silva on the halfway line was intercepted by Georges Mikautadaze, who made his way up the pitch before delivering an exquisite through ball to Kvaratskhelia.
The Napoli winger expertly controlled it on the edge of the area before producing a brilliant left-foot finish across goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
Portugal didn’t really offer much, which was highlighted by just how frustrated and agitated their captain – Cristiano Ronaldo – seemed.
Mikautadaze doubled Georgia’s lead in the 57th minute from the spot-kick to seal the victory and send their side into the next stage of the competition.
While many of the Portugal stars were poor at Arena AufSchalke in Germany, United’s Dalot is one of the few who can hold their heads high.
The defender missed Portugal’s previous clash vs. Turkey as he was forced to be content with a place on the bench. This time however, Roberto Martinez handed him a start and despite the defeat, Dalot gave a good account of himself.
The full-back had 68 touches of the ball to his name during the time he was on the pitch and successfully delivered 54 of the 55 passes he attempted, managing an individual pass accuracy of 98%. One of Dalot’s passes was a key pass.
He tried to connect with two crosses but he didn’t find his target on either occasion.
The 25-year-old had two shots to his name. One was on-target, while the other didn’t at all require the Georgia goalkeeper to swing into action.
Dalot completed the one dribble he embarked on.
He delved into four ground duels and came out on top twice. Dalot was required to contest two challenges in the air. He won all two.
The United man made one clearance and blocked as many shorts. He also registered one interception and put in one tackle.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
Dalot will undoubtedly be hoping that his display earns him a place in the starting XI when Martinez will be selecting his team for their next match against Slovenia.
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