The pressure continues to pile on José Mourinho as his days at Manchester United appear numbered after another disappointing result. The news was better for Marco Silva and Nuno Espírito Santo as they earned solid wins to move up the Premier League table, while Leonardo Jardim continues to look for solutions at AS Monaco.
There were a number of outstanding performances for Portuguese players across Europe, perhaps none more so than André Silva who again found the net for Sevilla FC. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Ivan Cavaleiro also made meaningful impacts for their clubs.
Tough times for Mourinho
Manchester United’s winless streak was extended to three matches after a hugely disappointing 3-1 loss to West Ham in London on Saturday. The defeat came after the club were eliminated from the Carabao Cup during the week by Derby County on penalties.
With Mourinho continually bickering with star midfielder Paul Pogba and constantly criticizing his players’ performances in public, the Portuguese manager’s job security looks on increasingly shaky ground.
United will now enter a difficult stretch in their schedule beginning with Valencia on Tuesday, before returning home to face Newcastle United on the weekend. Pundits are saying that his position with the club is being assessed on a match-to-match basis.
After the international break, Mourinho will face his old club Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on 20 October, followed by a date with Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus three days later. Results in those matches will go a long way towards determining if Mourinho will keep his job.
Marco Silva and Nuno win, Bernardo shines again
Meanwhile, Marco Silva and Everton got back on track with a 3-0 win over Fulham to move up to 11th in the Premier League table. It was their first win in five matches.
And the Portuguese project at Wolverhampton continues to pay dividends. After making his return from injury in mid-week, former Benfica winger and Portugal U21 international Ivan Cavaleiro scored just moments after coming on as a substitute against Southampton. Wolves eventually won 2-0 and are up to eighth.
Nuno again started five Portuguese players. Cédric Soares also played the full match in a losing effort. Elsewhere in the Premier League, Bernardo Silva played the full match in Manchester City’s 2-0 win against Brighton as they remain in first place. And Ricardo Pereira played in Leicester City’s 2-0 win against Newcastle.
André Silva on target again in Spain
In La Liga, André Silva added to his goal tally, scoring the first in Sevilla’s 3-1 win against Eibar. That’s seven in as many league matches this season for the Portuguese striker. Ex-Sporting captain Daniel Carriço also contributed to the victory. Paulo Oliveira was an unused sub on the losing end.
With Barcelona and Real Madrid both dropping points, Sevilla has moved to just a point away from top spot. Speaking of which, Nélson Semedo played the full match in Barcelona’s 1-1 draw with Athletic Bilbao.
Rúben Vezo started and Gonçalo Guedes came on as a substitute in Valencia’s 1-0 win against Real Sociedad, for whom Kévin Rodrigues played the 90 minutes. Rúben Semedo started again for Huesca in a 1-1 draw with Girona. Finally, William Carvalho was a late substitute in Real Betis’ 1-0 win over Leganes, returning from an injury.
Ronaldo and Juventus stay perfect
In Italy, Juventus improved to seven wins through seven matches, after a 3-1 win over Napoli in Torino. Cristiano Ronaldo did not score but played a role in all three goals for his club. João Cancelo also played the full match. Mário Rui started for Napoli but received a second yellow just before the hour mark and was sent off. Juventus now have a six-point lead at the top.
Bruno Alves continues to prove age is just a number. The Portuguese centre-back helped Parma to a 1-0 win over Empoli, as the club moved up to ninth. Pedro Pereira was a second-half substitute in Genoa’s 2-1 win over Frosinone. Iuri Medeiros did not make it off the bench. Nor did João Mário in Inter Milan’s 2-0 win over Cagliari.
Jardim in trouble, Lille continue to impress
Leonardo Jardim has seldom endured such difficult times. His Monaco side lost 2-0 to Saint-Étienne on Friday and have fallen to 18th in the table. Rony Lopes remains out with an injury.
José Fonte and Xeka started in Lille’s 3-0 win over Olympique Marseille. Edgar Ié and Rafael Leão came on as second-half substitutes as the northerners moved up to second in the table. Rui Fonte missed the match with an injury.
Montpellier with Pedro Mendes in the line-up won 3-0 to move up to third. Anthony Lopes and Olympique Lyonnais drew 1-1 with Miguel Cardoso’s struggling Nantes side, and Pedro Rebocho helped Guingamp beat Angers SCO 1-0.
Rest of Europe
In the Bundesliga, Renato Sanches played just over an hour in Bayern Munich’s surprising 2-0 loss to Hertha Berlin.
Raphaël Guerreiro was on the bench for the first time since suffering an injury during the last international break but did not see action in Borussia Dortmund’s 4-2 comeback win over Bayer Leverkusen. Bruma was also an unused sub for RB Leipzig in a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim.
Ricardo Quaresma scored with his trademark trivela in Besiktas’ 2-0 win over Kayserispor. Pepe also played the full match. Tiago Lopes and Silvestre Varela were on the losing side in that one.
Paulo Fonseca’s Shakhtar Donetsk crushed Karpaty 6-1 to solidify their hold at the top in Ukraine. And in Greece, Pedro Martins’ Olympiacos lost 1-0 to PAOK, Daniel Podence and Vieirinha on opposing sides.
By Rui Miguel Martins