Portugal thumps Denmark in thriller
Portugal made light of Cristiano Ronaldo's absence with a thrilling 4-2 away win over Denmark in the Nations League.
The defending champions was playing its first game since Ronaldo abruptly left the camp on Thursday, saying he would "tell the truth" about his reported row with coach Jorge Jesus "in due time".
But Portugal did not miss the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in Copenhagen, with Joao Cancelo, Goncalo Ramos, Vitinha and Joao Felix scoring to keep them perfect after three games in Group A4.
After Rasmus Hojlund failed to get a touch on Adam Daghim's ball across the face of the Portugal goal, the visitors started to take control of the game, with Ramos turning Cancelo's scuffed cross-shot against the left post.
But the Selecao did have the lead just nine seconds after that near miss. Daghim's attempt to kickstart a Denmark counter-attack was cut out by Cancelo, who exchanged passes with Ramos before clipping a cute finish over Mads Hermansen.
Wearing the iconic number seven shirt after Ronaldo's departure, Rafael Leao forced Hermansen into action before Denmark struck back in stunning fashion, Mikkel Damsgaard curling a glorious effort into the far corner from the left of the box in the 23rd minute.
But the host side was not level for long, as Ramos finished off another lovely Portugal move two minutes later. He backheeled skilfully to Fernandes before darting in behind, racing onto the Portugal captain's return pass and prodding into the near corner.
Hermansen denied Ramos and Fernandes either side of half-time, with the first of those saves coming after he cheaply conceded possession himself, but Hojlund got Denmark level eight minutes after the restart. He lobbed Diogo Costa following Damsgaard's defence-splitting pass, then taunted Portugal by copying Ronaldo's iconic "siuuu" celebration.
Portugal refused to go away, though, and after Ramos's acrobatic effort whistled over the crossbar, Vitinha ghosted onto Fernandes' cross and nodded past Hermansen at his near post with 67 minutes on the clock.
There was still time for Ronaldo's Al-Nassr team-mate Joao Felix to add a fourth goal, sweeping a cutback from fellow substitute Diogo Dalot home three minutes from time.
Vitinha paid credit to Jesus's tactics, while also suggesting Portugal was perhaps more free-flowing without Ronaldo at the tip of its attack.
"It's all thanks to the manager's work," Vitinha said.
"The truth is, we played an excellent game, and there's no hiding that.
"Winning here is extremely important, in a very difficult place to play, and two years ago, when we lost here, we learned that lesson. Don't be fooled by the result, because it was a very difficult game.
"Furthermore, it was the best performance we've had so far. We are growing, and the truth is, the more we work with the manager, the more we assimilate his ideas.
"We took a step forward in attack."
Vitinha explained the squad did their best to shut out the noise surrounding Ronaldo's shock departure.
"We tried to focus on the game and I think that's what we did," Vitinha said.
"We responded incredibly. Congratulations to the whole group."
