3 reasons why Portugal were held goalless by Spain

Portugal were involved in one of the best 0-0 draws of this year!

Portugal and Spain played out an entertaining goalless stalemate in Lisbon friendly.

Despite starting relatively weaker sides, the match wasn’t short of goal-mouth action, with La Roja particularly creating numerous half-chances during the first 45 minutes as Daniel Olmo and Gerard Moreno posed huge threats.

The reigning European champions grew into the game after the break but failed to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga, even though Cristiano Ronaldo and Renato Sanches both had one attempt each hit the underside of the bar, while Joao Felix made a shocking miss at the death.

Neither side could find the net eventually, but the draw seemed fair to both teams. Here’s why Portugal was held in the Iberian derby:

1) Portugal lacked midfield lynchpin

Despite naming a relatively stronger line-up than Spain, the Seleccao struggled to get a foothold into the match during the early exchanges as its midfield was completely run over by the rampant visitors. Bruno Fernandes, who’s often the chief orchestrator, was on the bench, and his absence was sorely missed with the Portuguese side barely getting a whiff of the ball in the opening stanza, struggling to string together a series of passes and create meaningful chances.

2) Ronaldo left isolated upfront

Portugal’s failure to get the ball forward had direct implications on Cristiano Ronaldo, who was reduced to a bystander for much of the match. Having struck a hat-trick in this fixture two years ago, he was heavily touted to score once again but instead cut a marginalized figure, barely making any touches on the ball, especially in the first half. His only highlights were hitting the underside of the bar and then making a sumptuous cross for Sanches, whose effort met with a similar fate.

3) Felix missed a sitter the death

As the game headed into the dying embers, Portugal carved out a golden opportunity to seek a smash-and-grab winner, but Joao Felix contrived to make a mess of it. Big time. As Neves’ corner was flicked to the back post after Nelson Semedo‘s header, the Atletico Madrid star raced clear of Spain’s backline and stuck a leg out, but the ball traveled from under it and behind for a goal-kick! That was a terrible miss, unbecoming of a youngster valued at a whopping €120 million in the market last year.

Both sides return to Nations League commitments later this week, with Portugal traveling to France for a mouth-watering rematch of the Euro 2016 final on Sunday, whereas Spain host Switzerland the day before.