Jorge Jesus promised that the saga surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo “will not divide” his Portugal side after claiming a Great win by 4-2 against Denmark in Copenhagen without his goalscoring record.
Ronaldo sensationally left the squad this week after a dispute with Jesus, which seems to end his international career.
The apparent breakdown of the relationship between Jesus and Ronaldo overshadowed the build-up of Thursday’s UEFA Nations League match in Copenhagen, but failed to influence an excellent attacking display from Portugal.
After beating Norway 2-1 with a disgruntled Ronaldo on the bench, Portugal took the lead in the 13th minute through Joao Cancelo.
Mikkel Damsgaard equalized with a sublime curling strike 10 minutes later, only for Goncalo Ramos to give Portugal the lead again soon after.
Rasmus Hojlund drew Denmark level for the second time eight minutes into the second half, but Vitinha’s opener for Portugal restored their lead once more, before Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr team-mate Joao Felix added a late fourth to secure a third win in three games for the Nations League champions.
Portugal face Norway in Porto on Sunday in their final game of an extended international break, and Jesus made it clear the squad will remain united despite the fallout from the Ronaldo episode.
Asked if the players are behind him, Jesus told Sport TV: “There is no reason why they are not behind me.
“What matters is what we have to do. I know why you asked that question, but things happen – they don’t divide the team and they won’t divide us.”
Vitinha greets Jesus after Portugal’s latest victory
Speaking to RTP, Vitinha backed up his coach’s comments, praising Jesus for his influence in his excellent start to the Nations League.
“Because of the coach’s work,” Vitinha said when asked about the improvements made in Jesus’ first three games in charge.
“The truth is, we played an excellent game, you can’t deny it. It’s very difficult to win here. We learned that lesson last year or two years ago. We lost and it was very hard. Don’t let the result fool you. More than the result, it was the performance. It was the best so far.
“We have been improving in these last three games. The more time we spend with the coach, the more we absorb his ideas and develop a more dynamic game. Defensively, we have always been strong and capable. We have taken a step forward in attack. I hope we continue like this. It was a hard-fought victory. It is important to say, here it is very hard, to win, more than an excellent performance.
“The coach’s work is starting to pay off. You see, it was very clear today. Fortunately, things are going well, and we want to continue like that. Now we just need to tell everyone to pack the Dragao so we can make it four wins in a row, which would be perfect.”
On the situation with Ronaldo, Vitinha added: “We tried to stay out. We focused on the game and we succeeded. We responded incredibly well. Congratulations to the whole team for that.”
