Portuguese Football in English
Nélson Semedo has been reflecting on an eventful last year, having made the switch from Barcelona to the English Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers in September.
The former Benfica man has been an ever-present in the league since his arrival at Molineux, starting all 23 matches for Nuno Espírito Santo’s side in England’s top flight. As he closes on six months in his new home, Semedo spoke to The Telegraph about the nature of his departure from Camp Nou after months of speculation.
Another hugely prolific weekend for Portuguese players based abroad saw some of the Seleção’s key goal threats on target as Cristiano Ronaldo, André Silva and João Félix all found the net in Italy, Germany and Spain respectively.
Meanwhile, Rúben Dias registered his first goal for Manchester City and Ruben Neves earned Wolverhampton Wanderers a point with a rare headed goal, while Domingos Quina hit another Golaço in La Liga and José Fonte saved Ligue 1 leaders Lille from defeat in France.
Portuguese also hit the back of the net in Poland, Turkey, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Saudi Arabia and Luxembourg.
Villarreal 0-2 Atletico Madrid
João Félix came off the bench to score the clinching goal as La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid got back to winning ways on Sunday evening.
Félix was dropped to the bench by coach Diego Simeone having scored just one goal in his previous fourteen matches, with the Portugal forward struggling to find form since returning from a brief absence with covid-19.
Werder Bremen 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
André Silva returned to action for Eintracht Frankfurt after a recent injury and the Portugal striker marked his return with another goal as his side saw their run of good form ended by Werder Bremen.
Silva, who missed last weekend’s win over Bayern Munich with a minor back problem, was restored to Adi Hutter’s side for the trip to Bremen and put the visitors ahead in under ten minutes with a beautifully dispatched header.
Last season raised uncomfortable questions of Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. After reaching the loftiest of heights in England in terms of the aesthetic beauty of their football and unprecedented points totals, it seemed the sky blue orchestra and their Spanish maestro had slipped into decline. Rivals Liverpool romped to the title leaving City a massive 18 points in their wake.
One year on, and the narrative has flipped completely. Guardiola has again concocted a frighteningly good Manchester City team. With one difference compared to past versions. This particular vintage is fuelled by a trio of Portuguese footballers seemingly playing the match of their lives… every week.
Master wordsmith Simon Curtis is a journalist who happens to be a Manchester City expert and a long-time resident in Portugal. The perfect person, therefore, to explain exactly how Bernardo Silva, João Cancelo and Rúben Dias have turned City into very probably the best football team in the world right now.
