Portugal U21s 2 Serbia U21s 0: Renato Sanches climbs off the bench to help Portugal get European U21 Championship off to winning start
Eyebrows were raised when the Bayern Munich man was only named as a sub - but he still made his presence felt
PORTUGAL got their European U21 Championships off to a winning start - but their victory against Serbia was far from accomplished.
Rui Jorge's men took the lead in the 37th minute through Goncalo Guedes, and then killed the game off with three minutes of normal time remaining when captain Bruno Fernandes netted.
But it was a game of few chances, and for all Portugal's flair and creativity, they lacked that killer touch in the final third and rarely threatened the Serbian keeper.
And with group rivals Spain thrashing Macedonia 5-0 in the other Group B clash tonight, Portugal will have their work cut out to win the group.
Daniel Podence cuts the ball back from the byline and Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic can only get a hand to the ball, allowing Guedes to nod into an unguarded net.
There were raised eyebrows when the line-ups revealed Portugal's "golden boy" and star of the senior team's Euro 2016 success Renato Sanches was only named on the bench.
But he made his entry into the Group B clash in the second half, and it was his delightful chip into captain Fernandes with three minutes to go that saw Portugal slot home their second.
Sanches had been quiet since coming on but decided this was the moment to show his class.
He nonchalantly dinked the ball into the path of Fernandes, who controlled on his thigh and poked into the net all in one movement.
Group B Upcoming Fixtures
June 17 - Spain vs Macedonia, 7.45pm
June 20 - Serbia vs Macedonia, 5pm
June 20 - Portugal vs Spain 7.45pm
June 23 - Serbia vs Spain, 7.45pm
June 23 - Macedonia vs Portugal, 7.45pm