Portuguese Football in English
Paulo Bernardo scored in Celtic’s victory at Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, after which reports have emerged that the Hoops want to secure the Portuguese’s future in Glasgow.
Bernardo is on a year-long loan deal from The Eagles with Celtic having the option to make the deal permanent for €7m this summer. Whether the full clause will be met is yet to be established, but according to sources on Monday morning there is hope that an agreement can be reached between the clubs.
Marseille 0-2 Paris Saint-Germain
There was a Portuguese double in France on Sunday evening as Paris Saint-Germain took a major step towards successfully defending their Ligue 1 title with victory at arch rivals Marseille.
Both Gonçalo Ramos and Vitinha scored for the champions, while Nuno Mendes missed the biggest fixture in the French calendar. After the match, PSG boss Luis Enrique was once again glowing in his praise of Seleção midfielder Vitinha’s performance.
Rafael Leão was the difference-maker for AC Milan in their victory over Fiorentina on Saturday, scoring and providing an assist as the Rossoneri continued their recent good form with a 2-1 away victory.
Milan made it six wins in a row in all competitions to strengthen their hold on 2nd place in Seria A, with Portuguese forward Leão indicating after the match that he does not envisage a future away from San Siro.
Paulo Fonseca’s contract with Lille expires in the summer and there is likely to be no shortage of interest in the Portuguese coach from Ligue 1 and beyond.
The prospect of an extension with Les Dogues has not been ruled out, but after two seasons in the north of France there is a sense Fonseca may have achieved all that is realistically possible at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Promising young manager Luís Castro left Benfica under somewhat of a cloud at the end of last season, having been relieved of his duties with the club’s B team when he expected to continue.
Despite his achievements with Benfica’s youth sides, including an historic victory in the UEFA Youth League in 2022 and subsequent U20 Intercontinental Cup, Castro was dismissed after just one season in charge of Benfica B in Liga Portugal 2.
