Southampton youngster failed miserably after emulating compatriot's actions | OneFootball

Mateus Fernandes left visibly annoyed after making slightly annoying pre-match statements.

During a boring Premier League spell, the Nations League gave enough thrillers to football fans in the past week. Among them, Portugal's extra time win felt like one of the best turnaround triumphs in a while.

Add to the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo kept his promise to find the back of the net, this game stood as a great comeback example among youngsters. Now, Southampton teenagers aren't any different and they also cherish sharing the pitch with the legendary Portuguese in any capacity.

Drawing inspiration from that fixture, Ronaldo's Southampton compatriot Mateus Fernandes also decided to replicate his role-model's off-field actions.

Fernandes fails while taking a leaf out of Ronaldo's book

Previewing their marquee clash against England's U21, Sport Witness quoted Fernandes making a strong claim in front of Record: "We believe that collectively we can wreak havoc on them. We will face them eye to eye."

Now, self-belief is a good thing and the Saints are already huge admirers of the playmaker's potential. Still, Fernandes needs to learn that he isn't an all-time great like Ronaldo just yet and pre-match comments often fuel more motivation in the opposition camp.

As expected, the England U21 team asserted their dominance throughout the ninety minutes which must've reminded Fernandes of his ongoing Southampton campaign. Again, the 20-year-old helplessly saw his team struggling to match their rivals but this time he knows he has his fair share in receiving the blame.

Hence, the best takeaway Fernandes can fetch from this defeat is maintaining his composure and being respectable towards his counterparts. The reason being that it's easy to lose track of continuous positive steps during a testing phase but those are the gradual efforts required to grow as a player.

Let's stay optimistic that Fernandes resumes the Premier League season with a commendable matchday attitude.