Portugal Boss Fernando Santos Delighted With His Side's Ability to Negate Italian Pace After Victory

Fernando Santos was in high spirits after Portugal defeated Italy 1-0 in Lisbon, as he saw his side dominated throughout the whole 90 minutes of the UEFA Nations League encounter. 

Even without Cristiano Ronaldo, A Selecao das Quinas saw many players step up to the mark. William Carvalho controlled midfield, Bruma was a constant nuisance out wide, and Andre Silva continued his fantastic international goalscoring record.      

However, Santos was happier about the defensive side of Portugal's performance

He said, via Football Italia: "It was about as difficult as I expected, as I knew the quality of both my team and Italy. We were aware that if we upped the tempo, we’d create problems, 

“Italy tried to surprise us by using two strikers upfront. When we did slow the tempo in the final 10 minutes, it allowed them back into the game.”

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Santos also commented on the half-time team talk, and his desire for Portugal to continue with their high octane pursuit.

He added: “I thought it was a little unfair that we were still goalless at half-time, so during the break I urged my men to keep up the pace. 

"It’s clear we couldn’t dominate the whole game, as we were up against a very strong Italy side.”