Daily Times

Portugal’s Bernardo Silva on Thursday defended captain Cristiano Ronaldo against criticism levelled his way after the superstar’s penalty miss against Slovenia at Euro 2024, and said the forward’s emotional reaction was “normal”. Ronaldo, now 39 and playing at his sixth European Championship, has struggled at the tournament in Germany and his inability to find the net so far has raised doubts as to whether he still deserves a starting spot in Roberto Martinez’s team. “Regarding Cristiano, we are humans and he felt emotional when he missed the penalty. That is totally acceptable,” Silva said on the eve of Portugal’s quarter-final clash with France in Hamburg. Portugal reached the last eight by beating Slovenia on penalties, but only after Ronaldo had a spot-kick saved by goalkeeper Jan Oblak in extra time — he did later convert his penalty in the shoot-out. “You want to help the team and he felt he could have done better in that moment,” Silva added of the missed penalty.