Image Courtesy: Twitter/EURO2020
The left-footed playmaker Aleksei Miranchuk with a stunning curling shot sealed a 1-0 win for Russia over Finland at the Krestovsky Stadium in front of 4,000 Finnish fans who had come 200- kilometres far from the border to Saint Petersburg.
🇷🇺 Russia celebrate their first win at a EURO since 2012 opener 👏#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/Kr3eRo1WI9
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 16, 2021
Russia had lost their opening Group B game 3-0 against Belgium, this win against Finland has saved Russians to face an extremely difficult task to qualify for the knockout stage. Their points are now tied up with the Finns.
Finland had their first major victory with 1-0 over Denmark, the match which was suspended because of Christian Eriksen’s collapse but was resumed after the player was in stable condition. The traumatised players went back on the pitch and finished the leftover game ended up scoring against Denmark but did not celebrate the goal in concern of Eriksen’s health.
Unfortunately, Finnish players didn’t get another chance to celebrate following the loss vs Russians. Â Markku Kanerva, the Finland coach was concerned about the players ahead of the game that they might still be distressed by the incident that happened with Eriksen on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the team was cheered up by fans, they were good in the initial stages of the game but their midfield couldn’t defend the Russians later. Joel Pohjanpalo, the striker netted a goal but was ruled out by the video review at minute 3′. They ended up losing their clean sheet of the game just a few seconds before halftime at 45+2′.
The scorer, Miranchuk was awarded as Star of the Match for his brilliant goal and performance.
⚽️ The man who crowned an intricate move with a fine curling finish…
🇷🇺 Aleksei Miranchuk = Star of the Match👏
🤔 Did you see that coming?@Heineken | #EUROSOTM | #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/K16FqO7hO8
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 16, 2021