Reducing a European Championship semi-final to a clash between two individuals seems somehow simplistic yet this tactical battle essentially revolved around how Wales and Portugal used Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale was regularly involved in play but Ronaldo proved decisive.

On a wider level this was a clash between two teams playing without a traditional centre-forward and instead using two natural wingers up front. Hal Robson-Kanu and Nani are more accustomed to wide positions but have been outstanding as strike partners for Bale and Ronaldo respectively.

Therefore, this was an unusual test for both defences, who theoretically were not battling against sturdy penalty box prowlers but instead were forced to make decisions about how far to track dangerous runs from mobile, speedy attackers drifting across the pitch. For James Collins and Bruno Alves, both immobile, physical centre-backs making their first start of the tournament, it was a particular challenge.

Bale plays as a No10 in Chris Coleman’s 3-5-1-1 system, starting behind Robson-Kanu but allowed freedom of movement to drift around. Portugal started defensively here and Wales struggled to play penetrative passes into Bale’s feet, so he wandered into much deeper positions, sometimes popping up at left wing-back, sometimes collecting short passes into feet from the centre-backs.

What Bale really wanted, however, was an opportunity to peel away into the channels. Midway through the first half, having started quietly, he suddenly burst into life. When the Portugal right-back Cédric Soares was dragged up the pitch to close down the Wales left-wing-back Neil Taylor, Bale instinctively exploited the space before firing a low near-post cross into the box. Moments later he was dribbling down the opposite flank, tracked by – of all people – Ronaldo.

Then came Bale’s chance to counterattack. Receiving a short ball into his feet in his own right-back zone, Bale waited for the challenge of Danilo, Portugal’s sole holding midfielder, before majestically turning past him, driving 70 yards with the ball, before hitting a fairly tame 25-yard shot at Rui Patrício. Ronaldo simply was not offered that counterattacking threat.

Ronaldo, aside from that surprising moment when he was challenging Bale on the edge of his own box, was much less mobile. Ashley Williams halted his first attempt to run at the Wales defence with a strong early tackle, and from then Portugal’s captain was primarily involved when trying to get on the end of crosses. Coleman would have worried Ronaldo and Nani would use their pace in wide areas to exploit the space on the outside of Wales’s back three – instead, they played centrally and Wales coped well.

Collins outmuscled Ronaldo to reach a right-wing Soares cross, with Portugal appealing for a penalty, while towards the end of the opening period Adrien Silva created a headed chance for him with a cross from the left. But Portugal’s narrow midfield, with Silva, Renato Sanches and João Mário all playing in a similar zone, meant Portugal were not working combinations down the flanks, meaning they were unable to cross from advanced positions. The crosses were floated, hopeful deliveries from deep.

The obvious opportunity to cross from an advanced position, though, was from corners. Five minutes into the second half João Mário rolled a left-wing corner back to Raphaël Guerreiro, whose whipped, left-footed cross found Ronaldo towering over James Chester to head home. Wales had looked so secure defending crosses in open play, yet conceded when able to get themselves organised at a set piece.

Portugal doubled their lead with a fortunate goal, Ronaldo’s scuffed shot being diverted into the net by Nani. It hardly owed much to design, yet it was further evidence of Nani’s ability up front: this was his third goal of the tournament.

Over the past decade Portugal have regularly turned up for major tournaments with world-class wingers but no prolific centre-forward and suffered from poor finishing at this stage. Here, with Ronaldo heading home and Nani playing poacher, Fernando Santos has found the answer to Portugal’s long-standing problem up front – simply do not bother with a centre-forward. Coleman and Wales, meanwhile, have overachieved by doing exactly the same.