Manchester United duo Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes helped Portugal sweep aside Switzerland to reach the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
The Reds pair both started and were key in their nation’s 6-1 victory at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar.
Fernandes crossed for Pepe to make it 2-0 in the first half before Dalot laid a ball on a plate for Goncalo Ramos to score the second of his three goals on the evening, shortly after the break.
The cross was our no.8’s fifth goal involvement of the tournament – second to only France’s Kylian Mbappe (seven) – following his two assists in Portugal’s opener v Ghana and his brace in their matchday-two win over Uruguay.
After half-time, fellow Red Dalot got in on the act, teeing up Ramos to make it 3-0, moments before Raphael Guerreiro got the fourth of the game for the Portuguese.
Manuel Akanji pulled one back for Switzerland, but it was Benfica’s Ramos who was on target again next, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick at the 2022 tournament, when his delicate dink found the net with just over 20 minutes to go. Substitute Rafael Leao then completed the rout for Portugal with their sixth goal, in stoppage time.
Dalot and Fernandes’s progression means that there are United players representing six of the eight nations still left in the tournament, with Croatia and Morocco the exceptions.
FRIDAY 9 DECEMBER
Croatia v Brazil (15:00)
Netherlands v Argentina (19:00)
SATURDAY 10 DECEMBER
Morocco v Portugal (15:00)
England v France (19:00)
All times are listed in GMT.