As football calendars across Europe drew to a close this weekend, there was no let-up in the Portuguese involvement in some of the continent’s biggest stories. On the day Sporting were crowned Taça de Portugal winners, the Spanish and the German cup finals took place with Gonçalo Guedes and Valencia leading the headlines after their surprise win over Barcelona.
Manuel Fernandes is the toast of the Russian capital, after his winning goal meant Lokomotiv Moscow secured Champions League football. In a varied weekend of action for Portugal’s representatives abroad, there was a full Serie A debut for Lazio’s Bruno Jordão, while Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco finally clinched safety in France, Vítor Pereira secured a huge win in China’s top-of-the-table showdown and Nani's missed penalty cost Orlando City in MLS.
Guedes’ Valencia lift Spanish Cup
Valencia produced somewhat of a surprise by beating La Liga champions Barcelona 2-1 in the final of the Copa Del Rey on Saturday evening. The final was hosted in Sevilla, with league winners Barcelona favourites against a Valencia side full of confidence following their last-gasp claim of 4th place and Champions League football last weekend.
Two first-half goals did the damage for Los Ches, with France international Kevin Gameiro (21’) and former Benfica striker Rodrigo (33’) giving Valencia an early 2-0 lead. Portugal international Gonçalo Guedes played the full 90 minutes for the victors, with the 22-year-old going close with a good right-footed effort from outside the box in the early stages of the second period.
Lionel Messi’s goal with around 18 minutes remaining meant Barcelona, who started Nélson Semedo at right-back, made the latter stages nervy for Valencia. However, Marcelino’s men held firm to win their first trophy in over a decade. The final whistle was a relief to Guedes, who missed a one-v-one with Barca keeper Jasper Cillissen late on when the game became stretched.
In the German Cup final, Bayern Munich followed up their Bundesliga title win by beating RB Leipzig 3-0 in Berlin. Renato Sanches was an unused substitute for Bayern, who won thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski (2) and Kingsley Coman, while Bruma was not in the Leipzig squad.
Manuel Fernandes winner sees Lokomotiv into Champions League
Portugal midfielder Manuel Fernandes followed up his decisive role in Lokomotiv Moscow’s Russian Cup win in midweek by scoring the winning goal in a 1-0 win against Ufa to ensure the outgoing champions finished 2nd in the Premier League. The runners-up spot secured Champions League football for Lokomotiv, who needed all three points on the final day to finish above Kranodar on the head-to-head rule.
Fernandes got the all-important winner in the 39th minute with a stunning free-kick. The former Benfica man dispatched the set-piece high into the top corner and it proved the only goal of the game. Fernandes later had the chance to double his tally, but his penalty early in the second half was saved by Ufa goalkeeper Alexsandr Belenov.
Lokomotiv finish the campaign eight points behind league winners Zenit Saint-Petersburg, and the newly-elected champions issued a fond farewell to Portuguese defender Neto at the end of their final-day 4-1 win over Yenisey. The 31-year-old, who is headed back to Portugal to join Sporting in the summer, was recognised for over five years’ service to the club with a rousing ovation as he left the field in the final minute of normal time.
Elsewhere on a lively weekend for Portuguese in Russia, former Tondela midfielder Miguel Cardoso scored for Dinamo Moscow in their 3-3 draw at home against Arsenal Tula. The goal, after just two minutes, was Cardoso’s third goal of the season in the league following a €1.2m transfer last summer, and also the first ever goal in Dinamo’s brand new stadium. Finally, Ricardo Alves scored for the second week running with a goal as Orenburg beat Spartak Moscow 2-0.
Jardim expects to stay in Monaco following Ligue 1 survival
Monaco ended the season in France safe from relegation but far from convincing after another defeat on the final day. Leonardo Jardim’s side were beaten 2-0 at Nice on Friday evening, but survived the drop as Caen lost 1-0 at home to Paulo Sousa’s Bordeaux. Monaco avoided the relegation play-off by two points, but one win from their last nine matches has left many unconvinced with the team’s form.
"It's true, this season is very hard for everyone,” Jardim said after safety was confirmed. “Not only for me, who had three months away (Jardim was sacked in October but reappointed in January), but I am very relieved and very happy. In January I came back due to emotion, because I like this club, I live in Monaco and because the president called me directly.
“I'm happy to have achieved our goal despite defeat. Monaco remains in Ligue 1. Personally, I have never been relegated and I did not want to experience relegation.”
Jardim has seen his name connected with various jobs, including Marseille in France and Milan and Juventus in Italy. However, the former Sporting boss says he expects to see out his deal with Les Monegasques. “We have not prepared much for next season. We need to not make the same mistakes as this year and say we will be there at the top when we do not have the team to do it.
“I still have two years of contract. I came back here and took a risk. Now that we are saved, I think I will stay. Even if it's not me who decides in the end.”
Bruno Jordão makes full Serie A bow
Lazio’s 3-1 defeat at Torino on the final day of the Italian league season was of only minor significance to the Roman club, who finish in 8th place instead of 7th as a result. Lazio had already ensured they will play European football next season by winning the Coppa Italia, but the match in Turin represented a landmark occasion for young Portuguese forward Bruno Jordão.
Jordão, 20, started his first Serie A match for the Biancocelesti, playing just under an hour before being replaced. The former Braga starlet, who cost Lazio €2.5m, had previously made 2 substitute appearances earlier this year against Genoa and Udinese.
Genoa managed to survive relegation on the final day, despite their draw at Fiorentina representing their 10th league game without a victory. Pedro Pereira and Miguel Veloso played for Genoa in the scoreless draw in Florence, with their team maintaining their status thanks to a superior head-to-head record over Empoli.
CSKA fall short in Bulgaria despite Rodrigues’ efforts, as Nani penalty miss costs Orlando
Ludogorets clinched their eight successive league title on a controversial final day in Bulgaria, finishing one point ahead of closest challengers CSKA Sofia. Ludogorets easily saw off Cherno More Varna with a 4-1 victory, but the decision made by club officials of Cherno to leave out half a dozen key players has drawn criticism in the country’s media.
CSKA fall short of glory despite a strong finish to the campaign which has been partly inspired by Portuguese midfielder Tiago Rodrigues. The former Porto man scored in three successive appearances towards the end of the season for CSKA, who finished with a 1-0 win over Botev Plovdiv.
Rúben Brígido was on the scoresheet in Bulgaria on the final day, netting for Beroe in their 3-1 win over Levski Sofia. Also in the goals this weekend was Renato Santos of Malaga, who helped his team to a 3-1 win over Real Zaragoza in the Spanish Segunda to strengthen their quest for a promotion playoff place.
Pedro Santos has found himself in good goalscoring form in MLS this season, and the midfielder got his third of the campaign for Columbus Crew in their 3-2 defeat at Colorado Rapids. Less accurate in the United States was veteran Portugal winger Nani, who saw his first-half penalty saved as Orlando City were beaten 1-0 at home by LA Galaxy.
Portuguese bosses: Pereira’s Shanghai win big match in China
First faced off against second in China’s CSL on Sunday, with Vítor Pereira’s Shanghai SIPG cutting leaders Beijing Guoan’s advantage at the top to just two points with a 2-1 home win. Pereira’s men went into the match five points adrift of their opponents and looking to end Beijing’s 100% record from the opening ten matches. Pereira, who won the CSL with Shanghai last season, had club veteran Huikang Cai to thank for the winning goal with just over 12 minutes left to play.
It has been a tough week for some of the lesser known Portuguese bosses abroad. Lisbon-born coach Rui Almeida suffered heartbreak in the Ligue 2 play-offs last week as his Troyes side lost 2-1 in extra time to Lens and remain in the French second tier. Meanwhile in Switzerland, former Mafra boss Pedro Silva was relegated from the Challenge League (second tier) with Rapperswil-Jona.
By Sean Gillen
