The loan of Benfica playmaker Bernardo Silva to French club Monaco has been made permanent in exchange for €15.75 million entering the Lisbon club's coffers. 

Portugal U21 international Bernardo has played an increasingly significant role at the club from the principality, who are managed by Portuguese coach Leonardo Jardim. Just this past weekend he was named in the Ligue1 "Team of the Week" by L'Equipe after scoring the winner in Monaco's 1-0 victory over Nantes. 

That Valencia coach Nuno Espírito Santo is proving to be a roaring success is a surprise to many, but not to anyone at Rio Ave. So says former Porto winger Ukra, who commented that he was certain Nuno and his "phenomenal coaching team" - who were at Rio Ave from 2012 to 2014 - would enjoy big success if given the tools. 

Speaking to PortuGOAL after Rio Ave's 4-2 defeat at Sporting, Ukra said he expects Rio Ave to be challenging strongly for a second successive Europa League qualification, especially as the team will be fresher than in the first half of the season when its commitments in Europe meant the Vilacondenses played more matches than any other team in Portugal. 

Appraisal of the Primeira Volta

The first half the Primeira Liga was completed this weekend, with a largely expected set of results. 

Leaders Benfica won with surprising ease at Marítimo, hammering the islanders 4-0 in Funchal, Porto overcame atrocious conditions to win 3-1 at Penafiel and Sporting beat Rio Ave 4-2 in a thrilling match at the Alvalade. 

There were also wins for Vitória Guimarães and Braga, the latter's 3-1 win at Vitória Setúbal costing Domingos Paciência his job. 

With one weekend left until Portugal's Primeira Liga reaches the halfway stage, the big three all won this weekend and now occupy the top three positions. 

Benfica made surprisingly light work of Vitória Guimarães with the northerners fortunate to escape Lisbon with only a 3-0 defeat. As expected, Porto easily overcame Belenenses at the Estádio do Dragão, matching Benfica's 3-0 victory. 

In the big game on Sunday night Sporting scored a dramatic victory over Braga as Japanese striker Tanaka scored a magnificent winner direct from a free kick from the very last kick of the match.