Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice this weekend to reportedly overtake Pele as the second-highest goalscorer of all time, as Portugal’s talisman shows little sign of slowing down in 2021 with Juventus.

Meanwhile, a reduced football schedule in the first weekend of the new year did little to slow the Luso impact across the continent as Rafael Leão, Bruno Fernandes and Rúben Neves struck in Europe’s biggest leagues, and there was a brace for Lucas João in the Championship and Vieirinha scored a late penalty in Greece.

• Ricardo Sá Pinto

A busy final week of 2020 for Portuguese coaches abroad ended with Ricardo Sá Pinto losing his job at Vasco da Gama, just a few days after Rui Vitória was relieved of his duties by Saudi outfit Al-Nassr and Vitór Pereira was announced as leaving Shanghai SIPG.

As Sá Pinto, Vitória and Pereira become free agents, there was an exciting opportunity for former Benfica B coach Renato Paiva, who became the latest Portuguese to head to South America after signing a deal with Independiente del Valle in Ecuador.

The Premier League was back in action on boxing day and it was a positive round of matches for the Portuguese contingent in England’s top flight.

Bruno Fernandes was the star of the show in the opening game at lunchtime, getting another goal and assist as Manchester United were held 2-2 at Leicester City, while João Cancelo was among those involved in the later games and the full-back drew praise for his part in Manchester City’s win over Newcastle.

Nuno Espírito Santo has been asked to explain his comments after the Portuguese coach criticised the quality of referee Lee Mason following Wolverhampton Wanderers’ defeat to Burnley on Monday.

During his post-match interview, Nuno spoke at length when criticising Mason’s ability to referee at Premier League level, saying both teams become frustrated when the official “is not good enough” and unable to control the match.