Danilo Pereira is enjoying an impressive run of goalscoring form for Paris Saint-Germain, after scoring twice in their 5-1 victory over Lille in Ligue 1. The Portugal midfielder now has four goals this season, already matching his second-highest career tally, while young left-back Nuno Mendes caught the eye in setting up the opener.
Elsewhere, Diogo Jota and André Silva are also continuing to find the net with reassuring consistency in England and Germany respectively, while there was a debut goal in Croatia for on-loan Benfica defender Ferro. In Poland, João Amaral struck twice for Lech Poznan as they played out a six-goal thriller with Cracovia.
Danilo the goal machine
Paris Saint-Germain headed to last season’s champions Lille with the two sides enjoying contrasting fortunes in this year’s Ligue 1 campaign. While PSG top the table by a considerable margin, Lille find themselves mid-table having struggled to cope with the loss of coach Christophe Galtier and the departure of key players.
José Fonte started as captain for the champions, who were without the injured Renato Sanches, while Tiago Djaló and Xeka were named on the bench. Nuno Mendes joined Danilo in the PSG side and the two combined for the opening goal when Mendes brilliantly beat Lille defender Zeki Celik on the touchline and delivered a cross which was fumbled by Ivo Grbic into the path of the grateful Danilo to tap in.
A lively opening half saw PSG 3-1 up at the break, and Danilo made the game safe with their fourth just five minutes after the restart. Again the former Porto man utilised his license to roam forward and his shot from the edge of the box was deflected past Grbic, who endured a difficult evening in goal for the hosts.
Kylian Mbappe rounded off the scoring for PSG and Nuno Mendes spoke to the press after the match. “I think it was a good game for the team,” said the 19-year-old. “We started well and scored early, which helped us to stay relaxed and play our game. We pressed and we were able to score a lot of goals tonight, and that's good for the team.
“Danilo? I didn't think I’d see him there on the pitch, but he appeared and scored, the goalkeeper didn't catch my cross and Danilo was able to score. So I was very happy for him and myself!”
All eyes will be on PSG when the Champions League resumes shortly, with the French team’s clash against Real Madrid the tie of the round. Danilo and Nuno Mendes will be hoping to come out winners, just like punters who try their luck with a visit to ufabet.
Tedesco refuses to take credit as Silva keeps scoring in Germany
André Silva has 9 goals in his last 12 appearances for RB Leipzig in Germany, although the Portugal forward’s most recent strike came in a 3-2 defeat at Bayern Munich on Saturday. Silva found himself in the right place to score a typical poacher’s goal, which drew Leipzig level at 1-1 after 27 minutes at the Allianz Arena.
Bayern ran out winners on the night, but Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco has been credited with improving the team’s form since taking charge in December. Speaking after the match, Tedesco responded to suggestions he has helped Silva rediscover his form of last season with Frankfurt, but refused to accept responsibility for his striker’s improvement.
“I haven’t done anything in particular with André Silva,” Tedesco said. “Massimiliano Allegri once said to me, 'A good coach sometimes just lets things ride out too. Joking aside, sometimes a coach doesn’t need to tell a player where to position themselves or behave in the box.”
Ferro makes goalscoring start in Croatia
On-loan Benfica defender Ferro scored on his debut for Croatian giants Hajduk Split this weekend. Hajduk won 4-0 at HNK Gorica on Saturday, with the Portugal international opening the scoring in the third minute by heading in a free-kick delivery provided by fellow ex-Benfica man Filip Krovinovic.
Gorica 0-1 Hajduk (3')
— Everything About HNL (@AboutHnl) February 5, 2022
Just 3 minutes into his debut Ferro scores to give Hajduk the lead at Gorica! Nice cross by Krovinović! pic.twitter.com/5X6TWjgFIB
“It’s true, I could not imagine a better debut,” Ferro said when speaking with the club’s in-house media. “My goal is not the most important thing, which would always be a victory with no goal. Of course, with the goal, it's even nicer. Katic told me to go to the second post and it turned out great.
“In the first half, the match was a bit strange. We lost some balls unnecessarily, and in the second half we played with more confidence. I’m glad I got a standing ovation when I came off. I will continue to work as best I can to help the team.”
FA Cup: Carvalho, Jota on the scoresheet
It was FA Cup weekend in England, beginning with Manchester United – including Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo – surprisingly losing on penalties to Middlesbrough at Old Trafford. Ronaldo missed a spot kick during the first half of a 1-1 draw, ahead of the Championship side advancing on penalties.
The following day, Portugal-born midfielder Fabio Carvalho scored for Fulham at Manchester City after just a few minutes. City recovered to win 4-1 at the Etihad, and after the match Pep Guardiola again offered praise to opposite number Marco Silva, telling reporters he admired the style of football practised by the Cottagers.
On Sunday, Diogo Jota opened the scoring for Liverpool as they overcame Cardiff City 3-1 at Anfield after a goalless first half. Jota scored in the 53rd minute, again demonstrating his aerial prowess by glancing Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free-kick past Dillon Phillips for his 15th goal in all competitions for the Reds this season.
Headed goals are just standard for Diogo Jota at this point pic.twitter.com/ldk4bynIXt
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) February 7, 2022
The rest: Amaral reaches double figures in Poland
Lech Poznan are still top of the Polish Ekstraklasa and João Amaral remains one of the key figures for the leaders. Amaral, who played notably for Vitória Setúbal in Portugal, scored twice in Lech’s 3-3 draw at Cracovia, with his first a particularly well-taken finish as Lech threw away a 3-1 lead to take just one point.#
Former Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal midfielder João Amaral in sublime form for Polish leaders Lech Poznań this week pic.twitter.com/GC0miMemIo
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) February 7, 2022
Finally, ex-Sporting midfielder Carlos Mané scored his second goal in four outings for Kayserispor in Turkey, as they beat Hatayspor 4-3 in the Super Lig. In Greece, Alex Soares broke the deadlock on 8- minutes as Volos won 2-0 away at Aris, while Carlos Fortes continues to push for the leading goalscorer award in Indonesia after scoring in Arema’s 1-1 draw with Persija.
By Sean Gillen
