Spain rely on video replay to edge France, Sweden win

Paris, March 29: Spain twice benefitted from the use of video assistance to defeat France 2-0 on Tuesday, while Sweden rallied from two goals down to beat Portugal 3-2 and spoil Cristiano Ronaldo’s homecoming in Madeira.

Antoine Griezmann headed in what appeared to be the opening goal at the Stade de France shortly after half-time, but it was ruled out for offside after consultation with the video assistant referee.

David Silva then converted from the penalty spot after a foul by Laurent Koscielny, and the Spaniards again profitted from technology as the referee reversed an offside decision that had initially negated Gerard’s Deulofeu 78th-minute effort.

“The victory was not a result of the (video) refereeing but due to the excellent KEY RESULTS Portugal 2 3

work and attitude of my players,” said Spain coach Julen Lopetegui.

“The (video) refereeing gave justice to this match, it resolved those two incidents fairly.”

Gerard Pique hooked a header from Koscielny off the line, while Andres Iniesta twice went close in the first half before video replays were used for the first time in France.

Griezmann’s celebrations after the break were cut short when Layvin Kurzawa was shown to be in an offside position.

The linesman’s flag was then raised as Deulofeu tapped in Jordi Alba’s cross, but replays indicated the winger was marginally behind Samuel Umtiti.

Ronaldo fired Portugal ahead with 18 minutes gone against Sweden before Andreas Granqvist’s own goal doubled the lead for the Euro 2016 champions.

Viktor Claesson pulled one back just before Ronaldo was withdrawn on 58 minutes, and the midfielder then struck again before Joao Cancelo turned into his own net as Sweden crashed the party in dramatic fashion.