Alex Marquez could not replicate his Sprint Race performance on Sunday at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

On Saturday, Alex Marquez was able to overcome front tyre issues to take victory in the MotoGP Sprint Race at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

However, on Sunday, when he experienced further front tyre issues, he was not able to fight through them during the Grand Prix. The Spaniard could only manage a second-place finish, as he could not match Marco Bezzecchi's pace at the front.

"He [Marco Bezzecchi] was super strong, I think we were doing a similar pace to yesterday's Sprint," Marquez told TNT Sports after the Portuguese Grand Prix.

"So, in that moment, I knew I would not be able to keep the pace until the end, but I tried. I had nothing to lose and everything to win. I tried to go with him and see how it was at the end of the race for us both.

"But mid-race, I realised he was too fast for us, and I started to have some problems with the front tyre. I was so on the limit, so I relaxed a little bit, but maybe a bit too much, as Pedro [Acosta] was coming quite fast. I was happy to keep my second position, and happy to try to fight for the win."

After he experienced the front tyre issues, Marquez rolled off and decided to settle for second place. However, he did not expect Pedro Acosta to start closing the gap for second place in the latter laps.

"I thought it would be enough. I closed the throttle, but also went wide at Turn Four," he explained.

"But then I saw that he [Acosta] was catching me a lot during the laps. So, I needed to put everything out there. I tried my best until the end, then two laps away from the end, I did a 1:38.8 and a 1:38.9.

"The race was so fast today, and we were able to be there."