Lithuania 1-5 Portugal: 4 players who impressed | EURO 2020 Qualifiers

It was another routine victory for Portugal, as the Iberians solidified their EURO 2020 qualification chances with a convincing 5-1 win over Lithuania in Vilnius.

A failure to defend their title would have been a momentous disaster for the defending European champions, but that was exactly the scenario Portugal found themselves in after drawing their first two matches in Group B.

However, victories against first Serbia and then Lithuania has seen them leap into second place, and with four matches still to come, they have their fate in their hands.

Fernando Santos would have been seeking to build momentum from their 4-2 win over Serbia last time out and that was exactly what he got with a number of his players playing a major role in helping Portugal to victory.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting four players who starred in the victory over Lithuania.

#4 Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva ended the night with two assists

Bernardo Silva was arguably Manchester City's most important player as they conquered England on all fronts last season and was deservedly voted as the club's player of the season.

He also starred in the Nations League as Portugal triumphed in the first ever edition of the competition and he was again named as the best player of the tournament.

It therefore came as a major shock when Ronaldo was named as Portugal's Player of the Year at the expense of Bernardo Silva considering all that the Manchester City man had achieved over the last year.

Against Lithuania, Bernardo reminded everyone of his abilities, dictating play with his silky technique and vision on the ball.

Fernando Santos started the Portugal number 10 on the left flank of attack and he ended the night with two assists, with the first of those being an absolute pin-point cross into the box which Ronaldo finished off with an exquisite flick.

#3 Rafael Silva

Rafa Silva helped change the dynamics of the game

The second Silva to appear on this list started the game from the bench but made an almost immediate impact upon his introduction.

Though the 5-1 scoreline might indicate that Portugal controlled the game from start to finish, that was not the case, Lithuania actually kept their more illustrious visitors at bay for much of the first half.

Despite controlling most of the possession, Portugal found the Lithuanian backline a tough nut to crack and were largely stopped from creating tangible chances in the first 45 minutes.

Given Portugal's toothlessness in attack, it came as no surprise when Fernando Santos elected to shake things up in the middle, and he did this by taking off the highly sought after Benfica man Bruno Fernandez and replaced him with his Lisbon-based club rival Rafa Silva.

This tactical twitch proved to be a stroke of genius, as the 26-year-old helped Portugal provide the incisiveness which had been lacking prior to his arrival.

Just five minutes after stepping onto the pitch, he set Ronaldo to put Portugal ahead once again, and even though his teammate's goal had a lot to do with the poor goalkeeping of Ernestas Šetkus, it takes nothing away from Rafa Silva's impressive 35-minute cameo in the game.

#2 William Carvalho

Carvalho rarely put a foot wrong for Portugal

William Carvalho is one of the most integral yet highly underrated members of the Portuguese team, and he underlined that once again with another impressive display against Lithuania.

The 27-year-old lacks the technique and flair of a lot of his teammates and goes about his business in a workmanlike unassuming and professional manner which is why he does not get as much rave reviews as his performances deserve.

The Real Betis man was deployed at the base of midfield as usual, and he played a major role in helping to snuff out the Lithuanian attacks on the few occasions when they ventured forward, giving his more adventurous teammates the license to attack freely.

In what was an almost pristine display, William Carvalho almost never put a foot wrong, and he capped up his night with the last goal of the game which was no less than his display deserved.

#1 Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo helped himself to four goals

Cristiano Ronaldo has been Portugal's talisman for well over a decade, and despite entering into his 35th year on planet earth and his 16th as a professional, the Real Madrid legend continues to hold sway.

He scored a goal to help Portugal to a 4-2 victory over Serbia last time out, but in what was an absolutely breathtaking performance, Ronaldo starred with four goals just three days later, running riot against Lithuania to underline his ability to the rest of Europe.

The first of the night was gotten as early as the 7th minute to send Ronaldo further clear as Europe's highest goalscorer on the international scene with 90 goals, and by the end of the night, that figure had risen to 93, as the five-time Ballon d'Or winner added a further three to sink Lithuania in front of their home fans.