That was one hell of a leap from Cristiano Ronaldo for the opener. It was like watching a basketball player going up for a slam dunk.

Portugal’s plan to send crosses into the box for Ronaldo to contest played into Wales’ hands in the first half, with their three-at-the-back formation perfectly equipped for dealing with a lone striker.

James Collins dealt very well with his aerial threat, but Portugal were able to isolate Ronaldo against James Chester, who was no match for the superhuman Portuguese.

Cristiano Ronaldo produced a superhuman leap to get above James Chester and open the scoring

Ronaldo celebrates after his Portugal side beat Wales to reach the final of Euro 2016 in France

While Collins excelled in the air, his lack of playing time in this system resulted in Portugal’s second goal.

The West Ham veteran had only played 27 minutes since the end of April, and he was caught out as Ronaldo’s shot was deflected into the path of goalscorer Nani — who he played onside.

Collins’ fellow centre half Ashley Williams stepped up in an attempt to catch Nani offside, but Collins didn’t read the situation.

Ronaldo's aerial battle with James Collins was equal but the West Ham's defender's lack of time showed

Bale excites like Best and Maradona

It’s such a thrill to see Gareth Bale running free with the ball at the heart of a team’s defence.

He’s up there with George Best, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi when it comes to getting you up off your seat when he’s got the ball. He went on a superb run in the first half, charging powerfully from within his own half towards Portugal’s goal, but couldn’t quite get the power behind his shot to beat Rui Patricio.

This is something we’ve become used to seeing from Ronaldo over the years, and as much as I’d like to see him playing this way on the international stage, it clearly benefits the system for him to play out wide and move into the box like a target man, rather than run at defenders.

Gareth Bale is chased by his Real Madrid team-mate Ronaldo as he shows off his dribbling ability