Portuguese Football in English
Paulo Fonseca dominated the headlines in French football on Sunday evening, after a heated confrontation with referee Benoît Millot during Lyon’s 2-1 victory over Brest.
Former Porto boss Fonseca was issued a red card as the official headed to the VAR monitor to consider a late penalty for the visitors, after which Fonseca aggressively went head-to-head with Millot on the touchline.
Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (3-4 on penalties)
Marco Silva’s Fulham are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after overcoming holders Manchester United on penalties at Old Trafford.
The visitors were increasingly impressive at the Theatre of Dreams, taking a first-half lead and surviving a resurgence from Rúben Amorim’s men, before edging the encounter with a perfect performance in the shootout.
Brazilian and South American champions Botafogo will once again have a Portuguese coach on the sidelines for the start of the 2025 season, having appointed Renato Paiva as Artur Jorge’s successor in Rio de Janeiro.
Jorge led Botafogo to an historic Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores double last year, before departing in the close season for Qatari side Al-Rayyan. Paiva’s arrival means the number of Portuguese bosses in Brazil’s top flight ahead of the new campaign reaches six.
Chelsea 4-0 Southampton
Few would have predicted Pedro Neto to state a case for Chelsea’s striker position this season, but a recent makeshift role for the Portuguese is yielding positive results with the Blues.
Neto scored and provided an assist on Tuesday evening as Chelsea crushed Southampton, on what was his second outing as the spearhead of Enzo Maresca’s attack. Having registered an assist against Aston Villa at the weekend, Neto has one goal and two assists in his new role.
It has been a bad week for Italian giants AC Milan. Sérgio Conceição’s side were eliminated from the Champions League by Feyenoord, after which a 2-1 defeat at Torino dealt a major blow to their hopes of a top 4 finish in Serie A.
Star Portuguese duo Rafael Leão and João Félix have come under fire in recent days, after both were hauled off on Saturday in Turin. The decision to substitute Leão at half time has been a particularly big talking point, with reports suggesting Conceição’s relationship with the forward is becoming strained.
