Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo pulled off a superb double nutmeg during Portugal‘s World Cup qualifying clash against Azerbaijan last night.
Cristiano Ronaldo-less Portugal secured a comfortable 3-0 victory in Baku. It was their third straight victory in Group A, taking them above Serbia to top the table.
Andre Silva, Diogo Jota and Cancelo’s City team-mate Bernardo Silva all got on the scoresheet.
Portugal boss Fernando Santos commented that he thought his side should have prevailed over their opponents by even more than the three-goal margin.
One of the most memorable moments of the night came courtesy of Cancelo, who produced a sublime piece of skill early on in proceedings.
After trapping the ball on the byline, he quickly turned before knocking it through the legs of Azerbaijan’s Filip Ozobic.
He then produced a superb flick between the legs of Tamkin Khalilzada, before charging forward to support the Portuguese attack.
Cancelo would later go on to assist Jota’s goal late on with a floated cross from the right flank.
Bernardo Silva, meanwhile, scored the goal of the match with an incredible outside of the foot volley from close range.
Portugal manager Santos said after the game (via beIN SPORTS): “The only thing about the result that is not good was the amount of goals we scored.
“When teams are not organised then they have difficulties, running a lot after the ball and wearing themselves out. When they have the ball they have more difficulties.
“Without some balance in the game it becomes difficult. We knew this was a game of patience as the opponents usually defend well. We knew an early goal would force them to change.”
Portugal’s next World Cup qualifier is scheduled to be against Luxembourg on October 12.
Featured Image Credit: Getty