Cristiano Ronaldo left dazed with bloodied nose after ugly collision with goalkeeper

Portugal's chances of advancing to the final four of the UEFA Nations League received a major boost after a crushing win over the Czech Republic on Saturday. The Cristiano Ronaldo-led team won the match by a margin of 4-0 taking them above Spain in Group A2. Spain lost the top spot after losing their match to Switzerland. 

The four group winners in the top tier advance to the Final Four tournament, scheduled for June 14-18. Portugal's emphatic victory was overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo incident in which the striker was left with bloodied nose following an on-field collision with the Czech goalkeeper, however, the Portugal skipper was able to complete the match. 

Portugal vs Czech Republic: Ronaldo escapes serious injury

Cristiano Ronaldo's nose injury happened inside the first 12 minutes of the match. The 37-year-old and Czech goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik went for a high ball. While Vaclik punched the ball away from the penalty area, he accidentally caught Ronaldo with his elbow. The Manchester United star lay flat on the ground following the collision. He was seen with a huge amount of blood in and around his nose. Portugal's medical team plastered the area of the cut after which Ronaldo was able to take the pitch.

Nations League: Portugal vs Czech Republic match highlights

Portugal broke the deadlock through Diego Dalot who found the back of the net in the 33rd minute following a pass by Rafael Leao. Fernando Santos team doubled the lead through Bruno Fernandes in first-half injury time. Portugal almost conceded their first goal of the match after Ronaldo was found guilty of the handball inside his own area. However, Czech Republic striker  Patrik Schick failed to capitalise on the opportunity wasting the penalty kick by sending it onto the crossbar.

Dalot stretched the lead in the 52nd minute with a curling shot into the corner. Diego Jota completed the rout following an assist from Ronald in the 82nd minute to leave the 2019 winners in pole position to reach the semi-finals. Portugal currently lead the group on 10 points ahead of Spain on eight after five matches with one game left to play. 

The Manchester United forward is a key part of Portugal's hopes for the World Cup in Qatar later this year. Recently Cristiano Ronaldo had revealed that he does not intend to stop playing football anytime soon as he is keen on participating in Euro 2024 after the FIFA World Cup this year.