Portuguese Football in English
Portugal midfielder Rony Lopes will be hoping that 2019 proves to be a lot more productive than 2018, after finally returning to action for Monaco this weekend after four months on the sidelines through injury.
The former Benfica youngster, who missed out on Portugal’s World Cup squad last summer, was laid low with a thigh tear in September. Initially expected to only miss a small chunk of the season, it has been a long and disrupted recovery process for Lopes
With no let up in sight across the English New Year fixture schedule, the Portuguese contingent in the Premier League and Championship remained in the thick of the action this midweek.
The most recent round of fixtures started with Ricardo Pereira again playing a starring role as Leicester City inflicted another defeat on struggling Everton manager Marco Silva. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva’s Manchester City emerged victorious in their clash with Liverpool, but Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolves surprisingly went down to Crystal Palace and José Gomes’ start to life at Reading continues to prove difficult.
As most of Europe’s domestic leagues take a well-earned break in the post Christmas period, England’s Premier League and Italy’s Serie A continue to plough through a gruelling schedule, and the Portuguese Abroad contingent continue to have a big hand in making the headlines.
The Premier League has seen plenty of surprise results during the festive time of the year, and the most recent saw Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolves score three late goals – the last through Hélder Costa – to earn a sensational victory over Tottenham at Wembley. Meanwhile it was business as usual for Ronaldo in Italy as the Portugal captain got both goals in Juventus’ win over Sampdoria.
One of the most positive stories in our Portuguese Abroad coverage this season has been the tale of José Fonte in France with Ligue 1 surprise package Lille.
After a somewhat disastrous spell with English Premier League club West Ham United following a move from Southampton, Fonte moved to China and Dalian Yifang in February, and many could have been forgiven for thinking the veteran’s top-level career was winding down.
José Gomes is the most recent Portuguese manager to try his hand in English football, having signed a 2.5-year deal with Championship club Reading. Gomes left Rio Ave for British football last week, arriving at the Madejski Stadium to replace sacked boss Paul Clement with the team struggling in the second tier.
Things could hardly have got off to a more frustrating start for Gomes, with Reading having two players sent off on his debut on the bench in a 1-0 defeat at fellow regelation strugglers Millwall on Wednesday. Defender Tyler Blackett was dismissed after just eight minutes, and Leandro Bacuna followed towards the end of the match.
