Bernardo Silva was not a happy man yesterday, despite Portugal making it through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024.
Roberto Martinez’s side are into the last eight, after edging out a spirited Slovenia side on penalties.
The game finished 0-0 and in extra-time, Cristiano Ronaldo then missed a penalty that would potentially have sent Portugal through before a shootout was needed.
In the end though, the game went to spot-kicks, and Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa was the hero of the hour, making three saves. Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and City star Bernardo scored for Portugal.
Bernardo has started three of Portugal’s four games at the Euros so far.
Despite going through last night, there was something he really wasn’t happy about just after the game.
Bernardo Silva slams ‘disastrous’ Frankfurt pitch after Portugal beat Slovenia
Bernardo hasn’t set the Euros alight just yet and neither have any of his teammates.
Portugal have left a lot to be desired so far at the tournament, despite having one of the best squads and coming into the finals in really good form.
They have France next in the quarter-final, and will have to improve considerably if they are to advance to the semis.
But thankfully for them, their next match will be played on a better pitch.
Portugal and Slovenia played at the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, and the pitch there has been the subject of some attention over the last couple of weeks.
England played against Denmark there and the turf was constantly cutting up, and it has been the same story in all of the games since.
City’s £43 million man Bernardo said after Portugal’s win: “I’m very happy, it was a difficult game against a very organised team, who put a lot of players behind the ball.
“It’s no excuse, but the pitch was very dry and the ball was always bouncing.
“The pitch was disastrous and slowed down our pace and our ability to find spaces a bit. Very happy with qualifying, which was the most important thing, knowing that we can do better.”
Frankfurt pitch has been unacceptably bad
It has been very surprising to see a pitch in such a poor state at a major tournament such as the Euros.
Organisers of the tournament have had a long time to ensure that pitches are in good condition and ready for the players, but the one in Frankfurt has been unacceptably poor.
UEFA reportedly had a plan to improve the quality of that particular pitch after England’s game with Denmark.
BBC Sport recently published quotes from Professor Steve Haake from the sports engineering research group at Sheffield Hallam University, who believes humidity has been causing the issues. He said: “When you’ve got 58,000 fans all breathing out and getting very excited, that’s going to create a thousand kilograms of moisture per hour.
“Part of the problem is they’re keeping the climate out, keeping the sun out, keeping the moisture out. The grass needs exactly those two things in order to grow well. I suspect they got the timing wrong.”
Thankfully, no more matches at the Euros will take place in Frankfurt.
