Portuguese Football in English
It was a strong week for Portuguese goalscoring in the Champions League, not least for Gonçalo Ramos who continued his recent comeback with a goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Salzburg.
Nuno Mendes also scored in the French champions’ 3-0 victory in Austria, while there was another goal for in-form Rafael Leão as Paulo Fonseca’s AC Milan secured a closely-fought win over Red Star Belgrade at San Siro.
The greatest week in the history of Brazilian giants Botafogo ended on Sunday afternoon with the club’s first league title in 29 years, sealing a remarkable double by Artur Jorge’s side.
Having lifted the Copa Libertadores last weekend, becoming South American champions for the first time, Fogão’s 2-1 victory over São Paulo at home on Sunday saw them clinch the Campeonato Brasileiro on the final day.
José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe saw their recent run of good form come to an end this weekend, losing 1-0 away to out-of-form Beşiktaş in the Istanbul derby.
There was a degree of fortune about Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s 73rd-minute winner, with the Englishman’s attempted cross evading everyone before nestling in the far corner, but the result is costly for Mourinho’s side in their attempts to compete with Galatasaray in the Super Lig.
Manchester United 2-3 Nottingham Forest
Nuno Espírito Santo’s Nottingham Forest secured a memorable victory at Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday evening, consigning Rúben Amorim’s side to consecutive defeats.
Having beaten Liverpool at Anfield already this season, Forest added another scalp at Old Trafford thanks to quick starts to both halves. Meanwhile, Amorim admitted United paid for their mistakes and insists there is much work ahead as he settles into a huge job to turn the Red Devils’ fortunes around.
Rafael Leão is in fine form of late, scoring five goals in his last seven appearances for AC Milan and Portugal. However, given Leão’s record of patchy spells of bright performances, many are yet to be convinced the Seleção man has turned a corner in his battle to achieve consistency.
Former Milan star Roberto Donadoni told reporters earlier in the week that Leão must produce across sustained periods to shake his reputation as an unreliable performer. Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of Milan’s trip to Atalanta on Friday, manager Paulo Fonseca appeared keen to send a similar message.
