Portuguese Football in English
Jorge Jesus and Flamengo lifted another trophy on Sunday afternoon after the Brazilian champions beat Athletico Paranaense in the Super Cup in the capital Brasilia.
Fla ran out 3-0 winners at the National Stadium thanks to goals from Bruno Henrique, Gabriel Barbosa and Giorgian De Arrascaeta, leaving the Portuguese coach to again praise the quality of his team during the post-match reaction.
“Rúben Semedo will be the future centre-back of the Seleção, I have no doubts,” proclaimed Sporting coach Jorge Jesus in May 2016, having successfully integrated his talented 22-year-old defender into a Lions side enjoying a formidable end to the season.
Jesus went on to assert that he expected Semedo’s transition into senior international football to commence imminently. However, almost four years later it is only now that Semedo has the realisation of such expectations back in sight after numerous off-field issues threatened to entirely derail the career of one of Portugal’s brightest prospects.
AC Milan 1-1 JuventusCristiano Ronaldo won and then scored a late penalty to give Juventus a significant advantage in their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg with AC Milan.
Juve trailed 1-0 at San Siro with just a couple of minutes of normal time remaining when Ronaldo connected at the far post with a scissor kick, which was blocked by the arm of Davide Calabria. A penalty was awarded and Ronaldo converted to put the visitors level ahead of the return leg next month.
The group stages of the Champions League are over and the disappointment of there being no Portuguese team in the knockout phase of this season’s edition of the competition has still not sunk in.
However, with a wealth of Portuguese talent plying its trade abroad, there are still plenty of players and managers you can follow on the road to Istanbul. One week ahead of the start of the knockout stages, PortuGOAL maps out the substantial Portuguese presence competing to lift the biggest prize in club football in 2019/20.
William Carvalho made his first appearance for over four months on Sunday evening, starting for Real Betis against Barcelona in La Liga. The midfielder’s comeback comes in the same week Gonçalo Guedes took his first steps on the field for Valencia after a similar period on the sidelines.
Both players endured losing returns to action, but Carvalho and Guedes will be hoping to stay fit and regain their status as key figures for their club sides ahead of Portugal’s European Championships defence this summer.
