Round two of Liga NOS 2020/21 saw title challengers Porto and Benfica keep up their excellent domestic starts with comfortable victories over Boavista and Moreirense respectively.

Sporting and Gil Vicente actually began their league campaigns at the weekend having had their own contest postponed last week. The Lions overcame Paços Ferreira while Gil Vicente defeated Portimonense.

Contrasting fortunes for the new boys as Farense lost a second match running, losing to fellow promoted side Nacional.

Nacional’s neighbours Marítimo got their first win of the campaign thanks to PortuGOAL Figure of the Week Rodrigo Pinho, their top scorer of the previous season proving deadly in front of goal again in downing Tondela.  

Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal

Diogo Jota marked his Premier League debut for Liverpool with the clinching goal as the champions beat Arsenal 3-1 at Anfield to take an ominous early advantage over their title rivals.

Portugal forward Jota, who arrived from Wolves earlier this month in a deal worth up to €50m, came on for the final ten minutes after goals from Andrew Robertson and Sadio Mane had seen Liverpool come from behind to lead 2-1 after Andre Lacazette’s early opener for Arsenal.

It may not have been away for very long, but football fans were still delighted to witness the return of the Premier League earlier this month. What a start to the season it’s been as well.

There have been goals galore across the division in one of the most exhilarating first few games in years. It’s hard to predict what might happen next. Your best bet is checking out the latest EPL predictions from Gamblerspro.com. 

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  joao — Bruma needs to drop his manager and join Jorge Mendes. Time is running out for him and he should be playing for a big team. Wake up, Bruma!! You are already 25 and your career has been average. You are a brillant player but nobody will remember you in years to come. Please, Come to the premiership!!......
  Dhazer — I really find Nuno Espirito Santo as a very patriotic man. I think he puts his country above anything else. You could see that from his team, from the number of Portuguese players he has acquired over the years. He has that vision of unearthing and developing the next generation of Portuguese footba......
  Sam — I think that Wolves' transfer moves are likely done for the season. They are used to operating with a small squad, and with no Europa League this season, there is less of a need than there was last season for a large squad. People are point toward the loss of Jota as a need for a replacement. I th......

João Félix and Cristiano Ronaldo were the high-profile goalscoring stories in the Portuguese Abroad section on Sunday evening, but it was another successful weekend in front of goal across the continent for the Luso contingent.

Bruno Fernandes’ dramatic late penalty saw Manchester United snatch victory against Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime, after which André Silva continued his goalscoring form in Germany and William Carvalho inexplicably made it two goals in a week with another strike for Real Betis against Real Madrid.

Elsewhere, veteran striker twins Marco and Flávio Paixão scored six goals between them in Turkey and Poland respectively, while there were goals in Greece, Bulgaria and Switzerland, as well as another for Lucas João in the English Championship with Reading.

Roma 2-2 Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo made it three goals from his opening two matches of the new Serie A season as champions Juventus twice came from behind to earn a point at Paulo Fonseca’s Roma.

Ronaldo’s second equaliser – a vintage towering header – came after the Bianconeri had gone down to ten men following Adrien Rabiot’s dismissal for a second yellow card. For Fonseca’s Roma, an encouraging showing after recent speculation surrounding the Portuguese coach’s future in the capital.

Benfica have announced the imminent departure of Rubén Dias to Manchester City after agreeing a fee worth €68 million for the Portugal international, in a deal that also sees Nicolas Otamendi come the other way.

As both outfits thrash out personal terms, Dias, 23, looks set to add to City’s growing Portuguese contingent, containing Seixal academy graduates Bernardo Silva and João Cancelo. Meanwhile ex-FC Porto man Otamendi readies himself for a stint with his old foes, costing the Eagles €15 million.

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  John — Nice! Looking forward to seeing Otamendi here. As a Benfiquista, I think player rivalries aren’t as emotional as they used to be in the 80s and 90s, unless someone can prove me otherwise lol. Going to the Premier League will do wonders for his development and Man City in particular. Honestly, it......

João Félix marked his first appearance of the new La Liga season with a superb performance as Atletico Madrid got off to a winning start with a 6-1 victory over Granada.

Portuguese forward Félix registered a goal and an assist, as well as several other notable moments as Los Rojiblancos gave an encouraging indication of their potential in Spain this season with new signing Luis Suarez scoring a debut brace.

Sporting have commenced their 2020/21 Liga campaign with a 2-0 victory away to Paços de Ferreira following consecutive victories from rivals Benfica and FC Porto on Saturday night.

The Lions, in action on Sunday for the first time in domestic competition after last week’s encounter versus Gil Vicente was postponed because of a Coronavirus outbreak, claimed all three points after a Jovane Cabral penalty and Sebastian Coates finish spearheaded Rubén Amorim’s side to victory.

Benfica took their points tally to six after defeating Moreirense by the same margin at home before Porto, in a much-anticipated Invicta Derby versus free-spending Boavista, starred with a 5-0 thrashing.

Elsewhere, Sporting de Braga registered their second defeat of the season as Santa Clara held onto a 1-0 score-line against Carlos Carvalhal’s men at the Estádio Municipal. Here’s the peak of the action from Matchday 2:

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  Joao — That penalty given to Sporting with that absolutely silly handball decision is dangerous, in the premier league they are complaining in drones and the Portuguese should join aswell, no way that should have been given as a penalty it takes a deflection of another player then hits his hand with the ba......
  —Z— — Proud of Sporting for winning games with so many players out due to covid -19. Too bad this fact isn’t given any important by this site....

Diogo Jota made the switch from Wolves to Liverpool recently, in a move worth over £40 million. Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been keen to add more quality to his options at the top of the pitch, and after a move for Ismaila Sarr of Watford broke down, he turned to the four-time Portugal cap.

Jota, 23, coming to Liverpool caught a lot of people off guard, as the move came out of the blue and was complete in the blink of an eye. The quick turnover of this transfer would be exciting for Liverpool fans coming quickly after the purchase of Thiago Alcântara. 

Portuguese striker Gonçalo Paciência says he is pleased with his decision to join Schalke 04 from fellow Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, citing professional and personal reasons for the transfer to a club considered the third biggest in German football.

Paciência signed a one-season loan move with Schalke earlier this month, after two seasons at Frankfurt during which the 26-year-old proved himself a capable goalscorer despite struggling at times with injury. The form of Bas Dost and compatriot André Silva at Frankfurt is thought by many to have provoked Paciência’s departure, but the player himself insists time on the pitch was not a strong factor.

More Articles ...

  1. Wolves’ Moutinho praises Semedo, Silva arrivals as “great person” Jota departs
  2. Europa League: Rio Ave stun Besiktas as Sporting see off Aberdeen
  3. Semedo ready to learn from Nuno at Wolves after completing “dream” Premier League move
  4. PortuGOAL Figure of the Week: Alex Telles shows his penalty prowess in potential Porto farewell
  5. The 8 Portuguese promises in the final list for the Golden Boy Award

      

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Today he had 60 or 70 minutes to watch how Sadio is doing and then he came on the pitch and did incredibly well. He scored a super goal, a nice first game at Anfield. He will never forget it, I will never forget it. A cool start.”

Jürgen Klopp
(Liverpool manager happy with Diogo Jota's debut) 
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