The first semi-final of Euro 2016 was decided by two quick second-half goals as Portugal shut down Wales with relative ease and a slice of luck.
Portugal 2 Wales 0
Those two goals in three minutes put paid to a passive Wales side desperately missing the energy and creativity of the suspended Aaron Ramsey.
After one of the dullest first halves of a less than free-wheeling tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo (12.0) broke the deadlock with a header from fit-again Raphael Guerreiro’s (4.0) cross.
The most popular pick in our daily Captain Poll, with 49.13% votes , the Real Madrid star then set up the killer second goal when his mishit shot fell to strike partner Nani (7.5), who steered it home.
The scoreline was a tad harsh on the Welsh, but they never looked like clawing back the deficit. Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio (5.0) was rarely troubled, with little more to do than see off speculative shots from Gareth Bale.
Bale and Ronaldo dominated the attacking stats for their teams, firing in five and nine attempts respectively, and the former also returned match-high figures for chances created (two) and crosses (six) for good DraftKings returns.
In terms of goal threat, the Welsh were out-shot by 18 attempts to nine by their opponents and did precious little with the 56.4% possession they were given by a deep-lying Portugal, who kept a clean sheet despite the absence of one of their best performers of Euro 2016, Pepe (5.5).
His replacement, Bruno Alves (5.0), was barely tested by Wales but still managed to pick up a yellow card. The 30% of official Uefa game managers with Pepe in their teams will hope he’s fit for Sunday’s final, while full-back Guerreiro and Cedric Soares (4.5) remain considerably more productive DraftKings selections.
Nani has proved an excellent budget option up front. He now has 27 points for the tournament – just five shy of Ronaldo – and has as many goals (three) as his illustrious team-mate from 24 fewer attempts.
Ronaldo offers a huge threat in the air but is no longer the all-round threat he once was, having completed just three successful dribbles all tournament – Bale managed 22.
Just over half of Uefa managers saw midfielder Renato Sanches show promise but little else against Wales, though as his opener against Poland showed last time out, the new Bayern man remains excellent value for a price of just 4.4.
