Portuguese Football in English
Some desperately unfortunate news from France on Monday as Lille defender Tiago Djalo has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Djaló was forced off after 13 minutes of Lille’s 1-1 draw at Lens this weekend, and scans on his right knee confirmed the tear. The 22-year-old requires surgery and will not be available for Paulo Fonseca’s side during the closing months of the campaign.
Bernardo Silva is officially back in goalscoring form. Having recently gone 35 appearances without scoring for club or country, the Portuguese midfielder now has two in four matches for Manchester City, after helping them beat Newcastle United in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, Danilo Pereira scored a crucial goal for Paris Saint-Germain as they home in on another French Ligue 1 title. Jota also found the net this weekend in Scotland with Celtic, while former Benfica man Diogo Gonçalves grabbed his first goal for new club FC Copenhagen in Denmark.
With less than a month to go before Portugal play their first match under new boss Roberto Martinez, the intriguing subject of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Seleção future is propelled by a goal-laden start to his career in Saudi Arabia.
Ronaldo struck a hat-trick on Saturday, meaning he now has eight goals in four matches for Al Nassr. Elsewhere, Beto offered a reminder of his credentials by scoring for Udinese in Italy, while Fábio Silva continues to show a goalscorer’s touch as he settles well at Dutch side PSV.
The latest edition of João Cancelo’s interview with O Jogo threw up some interesting quotes on Friday. The Portugal full-back recently joined Bayern Munich on loan from Manchester City, but Cancelo is clear that he has left behind a special team in England and teased a possible return.
Cancelo spoke to the Portuguese newspaper earlier this week, clarifying that there was no fallout between him and Pep Guardiola leading to his departure. Despite a strong start to life in Germany, Cancelo has hinted that he could head back to the Etihad Stadium in the summer, describing City as the best squad he has been a part of.
One of the more challenging aspects of Abel Ferreira’s job as manager of Brazilian giants Palmeiras is the carefully nurturing of one of the country’s brightest – and youngest – emerging talents: Endrick.
The 16-year-old midfielder has already signed a deal to move to Real Madrid when he turns 18. Until then, Abel is in charge of guiding a prospect upon whom almost inescapable pressure is being applied every time he represents the Sao Paulo club.
