Cristiano Ronaldo had an evening to forget in Prague on Saturday after he was left bloodied and bruised by a collision and failed to get on the scoresheet in Portugal’s 4-0 UEFA Nations League win over the Czech Republic.
Benched by new coach Erik ten Hag for most Manchester United games as of late, Ronaldo was afforded a start by national team manager Fernando Santos and given his 190th cap for Euro 2016 winners Portugal.
Around a quarter of an hour into the proceedings, things took a turn for the worse when he challenged the hosts’ goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik for a high ball.
Vaclik attempted to punch it out of danger away from the penalty area, but he accidentally caught Ronaldo with his elbow and laid the five-time Ballon d’Or winner out on the turf of the Sinobo Stadium.
Ronaldo was left with his nose bloodied, sitting up dazed while his compatriot teammates checked in on him and Portugal’s medical team looked over the veteran.
Plastering a nasty cut on Ronaldo’s nose, the traveling doctors ran a concussion test on the forward who was led to the side of the pitch to clean up.
Ronaldo was eventually allowed to return to the action, but the poor fortunes in 2022/2023, which have seen him score just one goal, continued.
When the score was still tied 0-0, he missed an easy chance from close range after the ball was cut back to him in the penalty area.
Manchester United teammates Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes were on cue, with defender Dalot scoring on either side of the half-time whistle in the 33rd and 52nd minutes to bag a brace and
Fernandes netting in stoppage time of the first half.
With just eight minutes to spare, Liverpool’s Diogo Jota got in on the act and sealed a 4-0 win that left Portugal atop the Nations League A’s Group 2.
In Braga on Tuesday, Ronaldo has the opportunity to rectify his mishap against bordering neighbors Spain, who lost 2-1 to Switzerland on Saturday.