In the difficult 2-1 comeback victory against the Czech Republic in the opening match of Euro 2024, midfielder Bruno Fernandes admitted that both himself and his teammates made many mistakes. However, he still had an impressive performance and played a key role in helping Portugal win 3 important points.

Bruno Fernandes frankly admitted: “We made a lot of mistakes in the first half, especially me.” However, the Manchester United star is not too worried about it because he understands that taking risks is an indispensable part of his playing style.

“Taking risks has two sides of the coin. I know this. Midfielders take more risks. But once I can pass the ball, I have a lot of opportunities in front of me to score,” Bruno explained. “So I’m not worried about making mistakes, because that’s part of the game. I have the support of the team because they know that’s one of my characteristics.”

However, the 29-year-old midfielder’s performance still received praise from experts. Former Liverpool star Danny Murphy praised the Portuguese midfielder for his excellent performance as he “probed, used his skills and tried to find loopholes”.

“Fernandes used his energy well, and always asked for the ball and tried to influence the game. He is trying to be someone who does something special, he is very important for Portugal Nha,” Murphy commented on the BBC.

With his role as a playmaker in a 3-4-3 formation without a traditional defensive midfielder, Fernandes still left a strong impression in the match against the Czech Republic. He created 2 good opportunities, had 2 shots on target, completed 88% of successful passes, made 8 crosses and had 100% successful tackles.

Those impressive statistics demonstrate Bruno Fernandes’ positive performance despite criticism of the home team’s performance. The 29-year-old midfielder played an important role in helping Portugal reverse the situation with Francisco Conceicao’s goal in the 92nd minute to win against the Czech Republic.

This first victory is expected to create favorable momentum for Bruno and his Portuguese teammates to make an even stronger breakthrough. In the next match against Türkiye this weekend, they need to be determined to achieve more convincing results, to be worthy of being considered a bright candidate for the Euro 2024 championship.