With the new football seasons gradually beginning across Europe this month, Portuguese players plying their trades throughout the continent are already making a mark on the early stages of the campaign for their teams.
Euro 2016 hero Eder steals the headlines this weekend with a stunning volley in Russia to help Lokomotiv Moscow to victory in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Luís Aurélio scored his first goal for Romanian champions CFR Cluj and Rafael Lopes found the net on his debut for Cracovia Krakow in Poland, while veteran boss Jorge Jesus and Flamengo snatched a point with a late goal at Corinthians in the Brazilian league.
Eder began the new season in Russia, which started last weekend, keen to revive his career following a hugely disappointing year last term. The 31-year-old has struggled since moving to Lokomotiv Moscow in 2017, initially on loan, and last season saw the former Braga man scored just one goal in the domestic league.
Two games into the season and Eder has already matched that tally with a sensational strike in Lokomotiv’s 2-1 victory over Tambov on Sunday. Lokomotiv fell behind to a 6th minute opener but Eder levelled the scores on the half hour when he converted Maciel Rybus’ cross with a beautiful left-footed volley which flew into the top corner.
Lokomotiv went ahead just a couple of minutes later through Vladislav Ignatyev and saw the game out to make it four points from their opening two games. Next weekend sees Eder’s team travel to local rivals CSKA Moscow for the first capital derby of the season. Elsewhere in Russia this week, CSKA ensured they go into the derby in winning form after beating Ricardo Alves’ Orenburg, while Miguel Cardoso was in the Dinamo Moscow side which lost 1-0 at home to Rubin Kazan.
Golaço de Éder ao serviço do Lokomotiv. 🔥pic.twitter.com/uE00VNTuIA
— Visão de Jogo (@visaojogo) July 21, 2019
Aurélio, Lopes find the net in Romania and Poland
Former Feirense midfielder Luís Aurélio scored his first goal for CFR Cluj as the Romanian champions got their first win of the new season away at Academica Clinceni. Aurélio, 30, is a new arrival at Cluj from fellow Romanians Gaz Metan, and played the second half of this weekend’s victory during which his team ran out 4-1 winners.
Although hardly renowned as a goalscorer – Aurélio scored just one league goal in the previous three seasons – the Portuguese put Cluj 4-0 up with a nicely-placed shot with the outside of his right foot in the 72nd minute. Cluj have four points from their opening two matches, but more importantly face Israeli side Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday.
The Polish Ekstraklasa is also underway after the first round of matches in the 2019-20 season were played this weekend, with another Portuguese getting his name on the scoresheet on his debut. 27-year-old forward Rafael Lopes, who left Boavista for Cracovia Krakow this summer, grabbed a well-taken early equaliser for his new side in their 1-1 draw at Zaglebie Lubin.
Portuguese bosses: Jorge Jesus sees improvement as Flamengo leave it late in Brazil
Flamengo boss Jorge Jesus watched his side salvage a late draw as their big clash at Corinthians on Sunday evening in Brazil ended 1-1. The Portuguese coach saw his team go behind just after the hour mark to a penalty from Clayson, but Gabriel Barbosa’s goal five minutes from time earned Flamengo a point after five minutes of VAR deliberation and a red card for Fla’s Orlando Berrio.
“We have been improving from game to game and today, having been 1-0 down, it was not easy to save anything but we got a point,” Jesus said after the match. “VAR? I am in favour of it but we must start listening to the people of football, especially the coaches. You cannot have a stoppage for that long, it breaks the game.”
Elsewhere, Vítor Pereira’s Shanghai SIPG dropped two points in the Chinese CSL with a 2-2 draw at Chongqing Dandai Lifang. New signing Marko Arnautovic scored on his debut from the substitutes bench to put Pereira’s side 2-1 up in the second half, but Shanghai were pegged back by a penalty from former Benfica striker Alan Kardec.
Jeonbuk Motors lead the way in South Korea’s K-1 under the guidance of José Morais, following an impressive 4-2 win at Seoul. In Mexico, the first round of the Liga MX 2019/20 Apetura saw Pedro Caixinha’s Cruz Azul earn a 0-0 draw away at Necaxa. Caixinha’s side hammered Necaxa 4-0 last weekend to lift the Mexican Supercup.
By Sean Gillen
