As the European football seasons draw to a close across the continent, Portuguese players abroad continue to make the headlines. Bernardo Silva registered two assists as Manchester City hammered Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final to complete a domestic treble, while the German Bundesliga was decided on the final day with Renato Sanches scoring to help Bayern Munich to glory.
France’s Ligue 1 has one matchday remaining, but Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco are all but safe after a much-needed win over Amiens. On the goals front, Nani continues to sparkle in MLS with Orlando City and Tiago Rodrigues ensured the Bulgarian title remains closely-contested with a crucial winner for CSKA Sofia.
Bernardo: “We’ll be better next season”
Bernardo Silva capped a fantastic season in England with Manchester City by producing another excellent display as the champions added the FA Cup to their Premier League and Carabao Cup trophies this season. In completing the hat-trick of competitions won, Pep Guardiola’s side became the first team in English football history to win a domestic treble.
Portugal star Bernardo laid on two of City’s goals, with his perfectly weighted ball to the back post converted by Gabriel Jesus to double their advantage on 38 minutes after David Silva had opened the scoring. Kevin De Bruyne added a third and then set up Jesus for his second to make it 4-0, before Bernardo’s superb wide-play saw him cross for Sterling to tap in. England forward Sterling 
completed the scoring three minutes from time after more good work from substitute De Bruyne.
“To win all the domestic competitions – the first time any team has done it – it’s amazing, what a team this is,” Bernardo said after the match. “It feels fantastic. It means you’re the best in your country by far because you’ve won all the competitions.
“I think everyone was amazing. Not just the players. The staff, the fans. They pushed us this far. Now it’s time to rest and to celebrate. We’ll enjoy the summer and then in pre-season we’ll start thinking about what happens next season and we’ll try to do even better.”
Betting on an improved or even a repeat season with the aid of Codigo Bonus would appear a significant gamble, but the Portuguese midfielder has set a target of doing just that.
“It doesn’t matter if we win 1-0 or 5-0, there’s always space for improvement. Next season we’ll try to get better and we’ll try to win even more titles, to control more of the game, to create more chances, to score more goals. We’ll work on that.”
Sanches helps Bayern to title with first-ever Bundesliga goal
Renato Sanches played an unlikely starring role as Bayern Munich retained their German title with a 5-1 win over Frankfurt on the final day in the Bundesliga. The defending champions came into the match knowing that just a point would see off the challenge of Borussia Dortmund, but wary of the fact the visitors wanted three points for their pursuit of Champions League qualification.
Former Benfica man Sanches started the afternoon on the substitutes bench, but was called into action during the first half when Leon Goretzka picked up an injury. Bayern were leading 1-0 at the time of Sanches’ introduction, but Sebastien Haller levelled early in the second period to put the destination of the league title back into the balance.
Bayern responded in typically clinical fashion, scoring twice in quick succession to go 3-1 up within eight minutes of Frankfurt’s equaliser. David Alaba put Bayern back in front when he reacted quickest to a rebound, and Sanches’ moment came a few minutes later as the Portugal international cut inside onto his right foot and beat Kevin Trapp from a narrow angle for his first goal in the German top flight.
The home crowd were treated to a fairy-tale ending to the afternoon when veteran duo Frank Ribery and Arjen Robben took to the field for their farewell appearances, with both scoring to make the scoreline as convincing as Bayern’s performance. Gonçalo Paciência was an unused substitute for Frankfurt, who qualified for the Europa League despite a miserable end to the season and a 7th place finish.
Renato Sanches running to Ribery, Rafinha and Robben to celebrate with them ❤ #FCBayern #MiaSanMia #MEIS7ERpic.twitter.com/m6a0HLJV8B
— mr.bayern 🔴⚪ (@_MrBayern) May 18, 2019
Bruma off-target from the spot; Valencia take 4th in Spain
Dortmund were left to settle for runners-up spot despite winning 2-0 at Gladbach with Raphaël Guerreiro playing the full 90 minutes. Elsewhere in Germany, RB Leipzig were already secure in 3rd place when they travelled to Werder Bremen. Portugal winger Bruma was given a rare start in a 2-1 defeat, during which the former Sporting man sent a 54th-minute penalty over the bar as his side trailed 1-0.
The final day in Spain saw much of the attention focus on the battle for 4th place, which had been held by surprise package Getafe in recent weeks. However, Valencia end the campaign in the final Champions League spot thanks to a 2-0 win over Real Valladolid, with Gonçalo Guedes playing the full match. Sunday evening saw another defeat for Real Madrid, who were beaten 2-0 at home by William Carvalho’s Real Betis.
Monaco almost safe in France; Sousa’s Bordeaux continue losing run
Leonardo Jardim’s Monaco took a huge step towards survival in Ligue 1 with a much-needed 2-0 home win over Amiens to end a 7-match winless run. Jardim’s team are now safe from direct relegation, while the advantage over Caen in the play-off position stands at three points with 7 goals in Monaco’s favour on goal difference.
Radamel Falcao got the breakthrough for Monaco against Amiens when his header was badly fumbled by visiting goalkeeper Regis Gurtner on 26 minutes. The home crowd were forced to wait until the closing stages for the all-important second, which came with a swift counter-attack finished off by Alexsandr Golovin with around eight minutes left to play.
Jardim selected Portuguese duo Adrien Silva and Gelson Martins for the match, while Rony Lopes was dropped to the bench having not scored since February. Lopes replaced Gelson with around ten minutes to play as Monaco eased to victory, with Jardim telling media after the final whistle he was happy with his side.
“Tonight, the team responded well on the pitch, the attitude was excellent and the game plan respected,” said the former Sporting coach. “Today, we are not safe. In football, anything can happen. We will work this week to be ready to play the derby in Nice.
“All the players know it’s not over yet, it’s time to stay focused and achieve our goal: to stay up. Many people support the club and for this we will give our best in Nice.”
Less positive news for the other Portuguese boss in France as Paulo Sousa’s Bordeaux lost for the sixth consecutive match with a 1-0 home defeat to Reims. It is the third match running that Sousa’s men have lost by the same scoreline, and Sousa told media after the match that he was “disappointed with the result, but not surprised” before insisting his team had again taken too long to perform in the game. “I made the decision to come here before the end of the season to learn more about the squad and the league. I’ll work with the club to make the right changes. We need patience,” he concluded.
Goals: Nani brace leads the way
Nani returned to the Orlando City starting line-up having missed his team’s previous two matches and the Portugal international inspired his club back to winning ways. Orlando lost both matches without their new talisman, but Nani was on-hand to score twice in a 5-1 thrashing of FC Cincinnati.
The former Sporting man tapped in the rebound after seeing his penalty saved on 50 minutes to put the hosts 2-1 up, and Nani added a second with a simple finish following good work from Brazilian Ruan. Nani was withdrawn midway through the second period, while defender João Moutinho played the full match at left-back for Orlando.
Tiago Rodrigues scored the winning goal as CSKA Sofia won 1-0 at Beroe to keep the pressure on league leaders Ludogorets in Bulgaria. The former Porto and Nacional man produced a smart finish after 15 minutes to close the gap on the leaders to just one point with two matches of the First League season to play.
In Romania, the top two faced off on the final day of the season as CFR Cluj travelled to Steaua Bucharest with the title already sewn up. Steaua won the match 1-0 thanks to a second-half goal from veteran former Portugal U21 international Filipe Teixeira, while newly-crowned champions Cluj introduced Thierry Moutinho for the second half. Elsewhere in Romania, Filipe Nascimento scored a penalty for Politehnica Iasi in their 1-1 draw with Hermannstadt and defender Tiago Ferreira was sent off for Universitatea Craiova’s as they lost 2-1 to Viitorul.
By Sean Gillen
