Rodri has apologised to Bernardo Silva after the Manchester City legends clashed during Spain's 1-0 World Cup win over Portugal. Spain secured their quarter-final spot with a late goal from Arsenal's Mikel Merino, setting up a match against Belgium.
Clash on the pitch
Bernardo Silva had a late chance to equalise with a header, but his effort sailed over the crossbar. As he lay on the pitch in disappointment, Rodri, now a former Manchester City teammate, celebrated the miss by pumping his fist and screaming in Silva's face. Silva jumped up to confront the Spaniard, who quickly tried to defuse the situation.
Rodri's apology
The Ballon d'Or winner admitted his mistake and apologised. 'I made a mistake because I celebrated when he had failed,' Rodri told reporters after the match. 'I apologised to him immediately, but that's where it stands because of the trust we have, and that's it.'
Criticism of Portugal
Portugal's performance drew sharp criticism from former player Ricardo Quaresma, who accused the team of 'strolling around' in defeat. 'Everyone was saying this team was the best in Portugal's history, but in what sense? What have they won?' Quaresma said on LiveMode. 'We're going home with our heads down.'
Quaresma added: 'In midfield, we have great players, a lot of talent, but they've been very, very weak in this World Cup. The same thing happened with the attack, and the defense was disoriented. It's best if I leave it at that, because otherwise, I'll say things I'll later regret.'
He continued: 'It didn't work from start to finish. Everything went wrong. Today we handed the game to Spain: they did whatever they wanted. We were just strolling around, we were slow, we didn't feel like doing anything.'
Ronaldo and Martinez blamed
Cristiano Ronaldo played the entire match and was mocked by BBC 5 Live co-commentator Chris Sutton, who said: 'He's waddling around the field like a granddad. Honestly, that's why Portugal are out.' Sutton added: 'There's a lot of them probably walking off the pitch now thinking, "Ronaldo you've killed us in this tournament."'
Sutton also criticised manager Roberto Martinez: 'This is all on the manager. How can Goncalo Ramos come off the bench and score the winner against Croatia and not actually get a minute? What is Roberto Martinez doing? How can you pander? His job was to try and win the World Cup and put the best team out for Portugal. Has he done that? Absolutely not. It's scandalous the way he has managed this team.'
