eusebio-ronaldo-figo

“These points worth 6” – Danny Mota revels in Monza’s Juve win; Dantas double in Greece

Portuguese forward Dany Mota enjoyed a sensational victory over former club Juventus this weekend, scoring one of the goals as minnows Monza beat the Bianconeri 2-0 in Serie A.

Elsewhere, the past few days also saw goals for Jota, who struck in Scotland for Celtic, as well as Tiago Dantas, scorer of a brace with Greek side PAOK Saloniki, while former Portugal international Josué grabbed a goal in Israel.

Newly-promoted Monza piled on the agony for a beleaguered Juventus at the Allianz Arena on Sunday. First-half goals from Patrick Ciurria and Dany Mota gave the visitors a 2-0 win and lifted them above their opponents in the Serie A table. Juventus were recently docked 15 points for financial irregularities and slump to 13th, while Monza move up to 11th place.

For 24-year-old ex-Portugal youth international Mota, the match carried a special meaning. Mota spent half a season with Juve during the 2019-20 season, during which time he was a regular goalscorer for their U23 side before switching to Monza midway through the campaign.

“These three points are worth six,” he told reporters after the match. “We are very happy and we must continue on this path. Yes, we believed we could win here also because we did well in the cup. We always work for the three points and today we deserved the win.

“It is a special day. I was with Juve and I’m happy to be back here. I’m happy with the goal and the three points.”

Elsewhere in Europe this week, Jota scored one of the easier goals of his career as Celtic got their 5th win in a row in Scotland. The former Benfica forward arrived at the back post to head in Aaron Mooy’s cross to put the Hoops ahead at Dundee United, with Mooy securing a 2-0 win through a penalty a few minutes later.

In Greece, another former Benfica man, Tiago Dantas, was the star of the show in PAOK’s 3-2 win over Levadiakos. Dantas bagged a brace for the hosts in the first half, while one of Levadiakos’ consolation goals came via Portuguese midfielder Thierry Moutinho’s penalty. Also in the Super League, former Gil Vicente forward João Pedro scored as Panaitolikos won 3-2 at Volos NFC.

Former Portugal midfielder Josué opened the scoring for Polish giants Legia Warsaw as they beat Korona Kielce 3-2 in the Ekstraklasa. Dutch side NEC had Portuguese forward Pedro Marques to thank for a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Sparta Rotterdam in the Eredivisie. In Turkey, Carlos Mané was among the goals to help Kayserispor win 4-2 at Istanbulspor in the Super Lig, while in the second tier 38-year-old Marco Paixão is the joint-top scorer in the league thanks to a goal in Altay’s 1-1 draw with Ankara Keciorengucu.

Finally, ex-Braga midfielder João Novais scored in the United Arab Emirates Pro League for Al Bataeh in their 2-2 draw with Kalba, and well-travelled forward Toni Gomes scored for Zira in the Azerbaijan league last midweek as they overcame Sumqayit by a 3-1 scoreline.

By Sean Gillen

@SeanGillen9