Portugal, it seems, no longer need their star and captain Cristiano Ronaldo. In the eyes of many, they have become better without him, judging by the first match following the crisis that rocked the corridors of "the Brazil of Europe".
Ronaldo had walked out of Portugal's training camp in the Danish capital Copenhagen the day before yesterday, Wednesday, after a dispute with his coach Jorge Jesus over not featuring in the match against Norway in the second round of the UEFA Nations League.
Without their talisman, Portugal secured a comprehensive 4-2 win over Denmark yesterday, Thursday, at the Parken Stadium in the Danish capital Copenhagen, in the third round of the group stage of the European competition.
That was the first time Portugal have scored 4 goals away from home without Ronaldo featuring in a full 18 years, specifically since they did so against Malta in September 2008.
British newspaper The Sun revealed a striking statistic, highlighting the decline in Portugal's figures with "the Madeira Rocket" in the side since 2017, a year after achieving the miracle of winning the European Championship, Euro 2016.
Since then, Portugal have played 126 matches. Ronaldo featured in 98 of them, with Portugal winning 63% of those. In the 28 he missed, they won 64%.
The scoring record tells the real story. Portugal scored 210 goals in the 98 matches Ronaldo featured in, a rate of 2.1 goals per game, which looks high enough.
Yet the bigger number came in his absence. Portugal scored 75 goals in 28 matches without "the Madeira Rocket", a rate of 2.7 goals per game, laying bare extraordinary attacking strength despite the absence of the number one star.
The newspaper put the difference down to the nature of the matches Ronaldo plays. He features in the tough games where chances are scarce, and he is rested against lesser teams, where scoring comes easier.
But The Sun also pointed to Portugal's attacking variety across those years, with players such as Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix and the late Diogo Jota.
That variety stands out all the more without Ronaldo. The players find more comfort in making decisions, freed from the obligation to funnel the ball to one man tasked with scoring the goals.
How true those analyses prove should become clear in Portugal's upcoming matches, which will most likely be without Cristiano Ronaldo given his decision to leave "the Brazil of Europe" for good.
Portugal are preparing to play a decisive match against Norway the day after tomorrow, Sunday, in the fourth round of the group stage of the UEFA Nations League. They need a win to qualify for the semi-finals.
Top of Group Four with 9 points from 3 wins over Wales, Norway and Denmark, Portugal hold a full 6-point gap over the three chasing teams.