Portuguese Abroad: Rafael Leão on target; Sérgio Oliveira fires PAOK towards Greek title; Bernardo scores again; Big win for Marco Silva; Santos shines in MLS; Jardim, Nuno, Sá Pinto suffer

Cristiano Ronaldo may have been laid low through injury for a couple of weeks, but Portugal’s younger generation of strikers continue to score vital goals for their clubs on the continent. This weekend Rafael Leão and Sérgio Oliveira were on-hand to find the net at crucial moments in France and Greece respectively.

Elsewhere, Bernardo Silva continued his goal trail in England with Manchester City, while there were also Portuguese goals in Hungary, Romania and MLS in the United States. On the managerial front, Marco Silva, José Gomes and Pedro Caixinha lead the positive stories, but there was less good news for Leonardo Jardim, Ricardo Sá Pinto and Nuno Espírito Santo.

Leão turns super-sub

Young striker Rafael Leão has been one of the breakthrough stars in French football this season, but the Portuguese was asked to adapt to a substitute role for Lille’s trip to Nantes on Sunday. The former Sporting striker responded with a game-changing goal as Lille came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and keep their grip on 2nd place in Ligue 1.

Lille, who saw their 9-match unbeaten run in the league ended by Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco before the international break, started the match with defender José Fonte and midfielder Xeca. The first half ended goalless, but Nantes struck twice in the space of two minutes in the early stages after the re-start.

That forced Lille boss Christophe Gaultier to call on Leão, who was introduced just before the hour mark. Within a few minutes the 19-year-old scored his 8th league goal of the season, neatly chesting down a flick-on from Lille captain Adama Soumaoro and finishing expertly with his right foot. The strike revived the visitors, who would score twice more inside the following seven minutes to claim a memorable win. Edgar Ié – on-loan from Lille – was in the Nantes backline.

 

“Result better than performance” – Sousa

Paulo Sousa’s second match at the helm of fellow French club Bordeaux saw the well-travelled Portuguese boss come away with another draw after his side were held 0-0 at Amiens. Bordeaux went into the match looking to improve on a dreadful away record, which had seen just two wins and a mere eight goals from 14 matches on the road.

The game was notable for Sousa’s team having difficulties in building the play in their own third, with goalkeeper and defenders losing possession and fortunate not to be punished. Sousa, who has been showing off his linguistic skills by conducting interviews in French, spoke after the game about the need to improve.

 "I am more satisfied with the result than with our performance,” he said. “We tried to play the ball, we did it early on but not so much later. We struggled with the pressing from a very physical opponent, with a very vertical game involving a lot of long passes and second balls to contest. We had a good attitude, but it is not enough. We must be more consistent.”

 

Jardim’s Monaco beaten

Leonardo Jardim suffered his first defeat since re-joining Monaco with a surprise 1-0 home loss to Caen on Sunday. Jardim started Rony Lopes and Gelson Martins, with Lopes withdrawn midway through the second half as the hosts had 67% possession and 24 attempts at goal, hitting the woodwork twice, but could not find a way past the relegation battlers.

“We played a first half below our level,” Jardim said after the match. “We did not get enough speed into our game. The opponent was organised.

“I try to always get the right message to my players. Sometimes everything does not happen as we want. It’s football. Every week I repeat: We continue our war to stay up.

“We need to push our limits. We have not managed to do it today. This defeat is also a message for us. We will do better in future matches,” concluded the former Sporting boss, who are seven points above the relegation zone.

 

Sérgio Oliveira free-kick helps edge PAOK towards title

On-loan Porto striker Sérgio Oliveira scored for the second time in three matches as Greek Super League table-toppers PAOK maintained their unbeaten record and took another step towards a first title in 34 years with a 2-1 victory at Xanthi on Sunday.

Sérgio joined skipper Vieirinha in the PAOK starting line-up for Matchday 26 of the season, in a league comprising just 30 rounds. The Portuguese’s free-kick on 33 minutes set PAOK on the way to another victory and sees the leaders now needing just five points from their remaining four matches to be guaranteed the title. Xanthi’s goal was scored by former Braga defender Dinis Almeida.

The result means Pedro Martins’ Olympiakos continue to make little ground on their rivals. Martins’ side beat Atromitos 2-1, with Jose Sá, Daniel Podence and Gil Dias all involved. Podence assisted the winning goal for Andreas Bouchalakis, as Olympiakos recorded their 11th win from their last 12 games, with the only dropped points during this period coming in a defeat to their flawless title rivals PAOK.

Also in Greece this weekend, there was a goal for 24-year-old former Estoril forward Ricardo Vaz, who found the net for relegation battlers OFI in their defeat to Aris. It was the Cascais native’s first goal in Greek football since arriving in January from Spanish second-tier side Reus.

 

Three in a row for Bernardo

Bernardo Silva scored for the third Premier League match running as Manchester City beat Fulham 2-0 and continue their intense English title battle with Liverpool. Bernardo’s typically sharp left-footed finish in the 5th minute set City on their way to a seventh straight league win, and means the champions remain two points behind leaders Liverpool with one game in-hand.

“It’s most important for the team to keep winning”, Bernardo said. “Then if it’s me scoring or Kun [Aguero] or Raz [Sterling] or Leroy or Riyad it doesn’t really matter, what matters is three points. We were very motivated, knowing that Liverpool had one more game than us, knowing that they were top of the league and we had to get back there.

“When you’re top of the league, it’s in your hands. We know if we win the seven games that we have left, we’ll be champions. We know our opponents are strong but we’ll try to do it.”

 

Silva delighted after impressive win

Everton boss Marco Silva was emphatic in praise of his Everton players after another impressive win for The Toffees against West Ham. Having beaten Chelsea 2-0 at Goodison Park before the international break, Everton won by the same scoreline in London during a dominant display against The Hammers.

“We were very very good. We are proud of our players, congratulations to them and the fans who supported us from the first minute. I’m sure they enjoyed not just the result but also the performance. We did really well. From the first minute I saw us with the desire, the quality and mobility I like.

Everton, who had André Gomes in midfield for the whole match, enjoyed a dominance which was reflected in the match stats, with the visitors having nine attempts on target to their opponents’ one. "It was 2-0 at half-time but could have been three, four or five,” Silva said. “We controlled the second half and had the best chance to score. Since the first minute we were the best team on the pitch, and from the first moment we created problems for them."

 

Oliveira makes early return as Gomes’ Royals beat Preston

José Gomes was able to name Nélson Oliveira among his substitutes much earlier than expected this weekend as Reading gave their survival hopes in English Championship a huge boost by beating Preston North End 2-1 at the Madejski Stadium.

Oliveira, who was initially feared to be out for most of the rest of the season when he picked up an injury early last month, did not emerge from the bench as Gomes’ side dispatched in-form Preston thanks to first-half goals from Yakou Meite and Modou Barrow to move four points clear of the drop zone.

"I'm very satisfied with my players - they really followed the plan from the beginning," said Gomes in his post-match interview.

"We cannot forget that in the last 12 games, Preston did not lose. In their last six away games they won all six. So the results they have been getting spoke for themselves.

"They are a very tough team and my players they did very well. It was a very important three points for us and we deserved it. We scored two goals in the first half but we were very solid as a team throughout, our players defensively were almost perfect.”

The impact of Gomes on his new club since arriving from Rio Ave in December is reflected in the team going from being three points adrift of safety in December to having a 4-point cushion and two places between them and the dreaded bottom three.

 

Sá Pinto avoids sacking talk as title hopes suffer setback

Ricardo Sá Pinto’s target of winning the Polish Ekstraklasa in his debut season were dealt a blow this weekend as his side endured a crushing 4-0 defeat at Wisla Krakow on Sunday. Legia came into the matchday chasing league leaders Lechia Gdansk by two points, and saw Lechia – with talisman Flávio Paixão – win on Friday night to move five points clear and heap the pressure on Sá Pinto’s men.

The response was a disastrous one for the Portuguese, who selected Luís Rocha, André Martins and Iuri Mendeiros in his side for the trip to Krakow. Sá Pinto’s side went behind inside five minutes and proceeded to endure their heaviest defeat of the season to leave themselves five points adrift of the top with ten matches remaining.

The Portuguese coach, who took over last summer after the club had been crowned champions in 2017-18, had little choice but to concede after the match that the loss was deserved. “In the first half Wisla was better in every respect and we deservedly lost.  If you play badly, and we played like that, you can’t do anything.

Asked about his future, the former Sporting boss said: “I'm not the club president. The decision regarding my dismissal belongs to him. I understand the opinion that we play poorly and I must respect it. But there are 10 matches remaining, and we are in second place in the table. 

“Today, Wisla was a better team. We lost to a really good team. We must continue to work hard. I expect a reaction to this failure, because already on Wednesday we are playing another difficult match. We want to compensate our fans for today's failure.”

 

More goals: Pedro Santos downs MLS champions

Pedro Santos scored his first goal of the new MLS season for Columbus Crew in their 2-0 win over champions Atlanta United on Saturday. The former Braga man converted from close-range inside the first two minutes to set his team on their way to an impressive victory over Frank de Boer’s visitors.

“It feels awesome (to get the goal) and for the supporters, I’m really happy with the goal and the victory,” Santos said after the game. “Why are we so strong at home? I don’t know. We want to win all the games, but when we are at home we fight for our supporters. It’s true we play better at home but if we can do this away then it’ll help us this season.”

Elsewhere on the goals trail, there was a double for former Porto academy prospect Rui Pedro in Hungary. Now 30 and having played in Romania and Bulgaria since leaving Portugal, Pedro netted twice for Szombathelyi Haladas in their 3-0 win over Puskas FC.

In Romania, there was a goal for former Gil Vicente defender Ricardinho – his fourth of the season – to help high-flying Voluntari to a 2-1 win at Concordia Chiajna. Also in the Romanian Liga I this weekend, ex-Nacional midfielder Luís Aurelio scored for Gaz Metan in their 2-1 win and Politehnica Iasi.

 

Portuguese bosses

Pedro Caixinha praised his Cruz Azul players after watching his side come from 2-0 down to secure a dramatic 2-2 draw at Monterrey in Mexico on Saturday evening. Caixinha’s team were 2-0 down with fifteen minutes to play when Milton Caraglio pulled one back, and Igor Lichnovsky rescued a point in stoppage time.

"The team made a great sacrifice; we had a lot of spirit to draw,” said the Portuguese boss, who is currently juggling eight injuries as his side look to improve on their 7th place in Liga MX. "We will not stop pursuing the idea of ​​being among the first four, but we must get 3 points in the next game to be there alive and well," he said.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers host Manchester United in the Premier League on Tuesday night, but the Portuguese coach takes his side into the game having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Burnley on Saturday. Rui Patrício, João Moutinho, Rúben Neves, Diogo Jota and Ivan Cavaleiro all started for Wolves, while Hélder Costa came on during the second half.

“I’m disappointed,” Nuno said after the match. “I’m especially disappointed with the way we started the game because we started very badly. When you concede a goal so early, the game comes much harder after that. Now we have to rest, we will recover, we will analyse the game well and we will prepare ourselves to compete for Tuesday.”

In Asia, José Morais bounced back from consecutive defeats in South Korea by guiding Jeonbuk Motors to a 2-0 win over Pohang Steelers. Meanwhile in the Chinese CSL, Vítor Pereira’s Shanghai SIPG have three wins from three after beating Hebei CF 2-1 on Saturday as the champions top the standings in the early stages of the new season.

By Sean Gillen