Dias’ screamer set the tone for City’s win (Photo: Getty Images)
Manchester City 3-0 Sunderland
Portugal defender Rúben Dias scored a spectacular goal from distance to set Manchester City on their way to a convincing win over Sunderland, closing the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
Dias scored his second of the season after half an hour at the Etihad Stadium, receiving the ball some thirty yards from goal and letting fly with a thunderous effort which flew into the top corner. City added further goals through Josko Gvardiol and Phil Foden, but after the match manager Pep Guardiola admitted the Seleção man’s was the most important.
Asked to comment on Ryan Cherki’s brilliant rabona assist for Foden’s clincher, Guardiola replied: “It was special, but [most especially] was Ruben. The Ruben one was the most important one. The first one is always the most important one, it was really, really good.”
Matheus Nunes continued at right-back, where he is impressing in a new role, while Bernardo Silva played in a midfield three and stayed on for 82 minutes before being replaced. Of the players who played more than a few minutes, the Portuguese trio recorded the highest pass completion, with Nunes leading the way (97%) followed by Bernardo (93%) and Dias on 92% fulfilled passes.
The victory was particularly significant after league leaders Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa earlier in the day, meaning City are now just two points off the Gunners in the English top flight.
Ruben Amorim was visibly irritated after watching his Manchester United side drops points again at home in the Premier League, this time against Nuno Espírito Santo’s West Ham United.
United took a second-half lead through Portugal defender Diogo Dalot, but were pegged back by a late equaliser by Sountougou Magassa as Nuno’s side left with a point to aid their fight against relegation.
United struggled to impress on another poor night at the Theatre of Dreams, following last week’s 1-0 home defeat to Everton. The Red Devils created little before Dalot’s well-taken opener in the 58th minute, which saw him take a nice touch and finish inside the penalty area for his first-ever league goal at home.
The goal put United on the path to move up to 5th place in the league table, but the hosts experienced a drop-off in their intensity and lost control of proceedings. Amorim has already been criticised in some quarters for his substitutions in the 77th minute, which saw a double change of Matheus Cunha replaced by Mason Mount and striker Joshua Zirkzee taken off for ex-Sporting midfielder Manuel Ugarte.
The changes seemed to invite West Ham into the match, with Nuno making his own double switch after the Hammers won a corner on 83 minutes. Although introductions Andre Irving and Mohamadou Kante did not directly affect the corner, impressive midfielder Mangassa was on-hand to convert a loose ball after United failed to deal with the delivery.
West Ham saw out the remainder of the match with relative ease against a United who were left with little firepower. Amorim’s decision to remove forward players with less than fifteen minutes remaining will be considered a gamble, but the Red Devils had little in reserve to change the game in an attacking sense before or after West Ham’s leveller. Given the only attacking absentee was injured striker Benjamin Sesko, the lack of alternatives says plenty about the depth available to Amorim.
“[The feeling] is frustrating, angry, that’s it,” Amorim began his press conference, which he conducted with an uncharicteristic scowl across his face. “Why so many difficulties in second halves? There are second halves where we lose control of the game. Today I think was not that. After the first goal, we lost some second balls. We tried to defend far from our goal because we knew they’d try to make a cross, win a corner like happened. Long ball, they win the second ball against three of our guys in defence, so we need to be better in second halves.”
The press conference became somewhat tense when a journalist suggested to Amorim that his substitutions were “conservative” to which the Portuguese asked which attacking players he could have brought on. When the journalist suggested Kobbie Mainoo – a controversial exclusion for much of this season – Amorim grinned frustratedly before suggesting he intended for Bruno Fernandes to get close to Bryan Mbeumo, who was deployed as a makeshift striker.
This issue of Ruben Amorim disregarding Kobbie Mainoo is an interesting ongoing aspect of his management. Clearly irritated by the suggestion of Mainoo last night. It will continue to be a topic as long as results are inconsistent. pic.twitter.com/eflNzgbCHw
When it was suggested to Amorim that United have gone backwards in recent weeks, the former Sporting boss objected. “No, it’s not going backwards. When we had that run [three wins in a row] you were talking like the team was perfect, I was saying we were far from being in a perfect moment. We are really inconsistent. But if you look at the goal: 83 minutes, long ball, we have everything under control. We need to do better.
“Do I go into the changing room to speak about this directly? No, in that regard I’m always consistent. I will talk to them tomorrow.”
Well deserved - Nuno
Nuno, on the other hand, arrived at the post-match press conference with a beaming smile, having secured a draw which means his side have lost just one of their last five league matches – against champions Liverpool last weekend – as he continues to make his mark on a team which languished in 19th place upon his arrival in September.
“I think it was a good performance overall,” he began. “The first half we contained. I think the momentum of the game even in the first half was ours – the energy was there. Very good second half even though we conceded. I think the reaction after that was very positive; we dominated, we controlled, we went for it. I think it was well-deserved that we got the draw. The game could go both ways, but pleased with the performance.
“It’s a little small step. We need to improve a lot of things. With the urgency of the situation it’s hard, but we keep going. I’m always positive. Even the subs came late because I think the boys were in control of the situation. The chance came late, but it came. I think we finished the game well.”
Fábio Vieira scored his first Bundesliga goal on Sunday, and it was a memorable one as the Portuguese midfielder earned Hamburg a stoppage-time winner against Stuttgart.
The former Porto man, who is on-loan in Germany from Arsenal, came off the bench midway through the second half with the score level at 1-1, after which Hamburg were reduced to ten men thanks to Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit receiving a second booking. The visitors pushed for a winner, but it would be Silva who finished off a brisk counter attack in the 93rd minute to earn Hamburg their first league victory in almost two months.
“I’m unbelievably happy,” he said after the final whistle. “Of course because of my first Bundesliga goal, but even more so because I was able to give something back to the fans for the support they give us in every single match.
“We fought until the very last and. We never gave up, even when we were down to ten men, and in the end we rewarded ourselves with the three points. This team is fantastic and I’m extremely happy to be part of it and of HSV. It means so much to me and just makes me happy.”
The unexpected late win for 10-man Hamburg is a massive boost after five winless Bundesliga outings. Vieira’s general impact this campaign has been blighted by two red cards received against Union Berlin and FC Koln. The winner this weekend is his first goal contribution since registering an assist in a 2-1 victory over FC Heidenheim in September.
What a moment for Fábio Vieira.
His Hamburg side were five league matches without a win. Down to 10 men, drawing at home with Stuttgart and they break in the 93rd minute for Vieira to score his first goal for the club.
AC Milan moved top of the Serie A standings after Rafael Leão’s goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Lazio at San Siro on Saturday evening.
The Portugal forward was on-hand to convert Fikayo Tomori’s cross to finish off a nicely-worked Milan goal five minutes into the second half. Leao partnered Frenchman Christopher Nkunku in a strike duo as Massimiliano Allegri deployed his familiar 3-5-2 formation, meaning the Seleção man is becoming accustomed to a different role.
“I am learning to be a Number 9, but the team helps me, both on and off the field,” Leão said after the match. “They understand the movements, Tomori’s cross was a movement that we have tried in training, so I knew where to go to meet it.
“We’ve got to keep this going, we beat a strong Lazio side who wanted to climb the table, and we’re very happy.
“We are on the right path, but there are many games to go this season. We worked very well this week and want to keep it going. We play Lazio again in four days and want to beat them again, with help from our incredible fans.”
Rafael Leão with the winning goal last night as AC Milan beat Lazio 1-0 to stay top of Serie A.pic.twitter.com/Ec3eOpEG9S
On the positioning of the former Sporting forward, Allegri mentioned that playing as a striker is something Leão has experience of, stemming from his time in France. During a season at Lille, Leão often played as a spearhead of Christophe Galtier’s attack in a central position, which prompted Milan’s interest in 2019.
“Leão was already a centre-forward playing for Lille, he had a good header on target today,” Allegri said. “When the ball comes from wide, he has started making those runs towards the box, but he also has the option to move around in various attacking positions.”
Milan are now one point clear of Roma in 1st position, with the club from the capital set to host champions Napoli, who are three points off top spot, on Sunday evening.
Abel Ferreira was denied his third Copa Libertadores title at the helm of Palmeiras, as rivals Flamengo lifted the trophy with a 1-0 victory in Peru’s capital Lima.
The Brazilian giants squared off in a repeat of the 2021 final, which Abel’s side won 2-1 in Montevideo to make it back-to-back South American crowns for the Sao Paulo side. This time, however, Palmeiras were second-best to a more experienced Flamengo side, who are also on-course to lift the Brazilian league title.
The winning goal came midway through the second half, with former Porto defender Danilo rising to head home a corner. Palmeiras struggled to rally much in the final quarter, although a fantastic opportunity presented itself to record signing Vitor Roque late on, but the striker blazed over from a good position inside the box.
"Despite having a young team, we lacked a bit more courage and boldness,” Abel reflected after the match. “The opponent's style of play is no surprise. They break up the team - five to build up play and five to attack. Alex Sandro, Danilo and Léo, with Pulgar and Jorginho. They had five and we had four, we tried to jump with López and then equalize with Andreas, but I think more than giving justifications, it's important to say that our opponent was better.
“They were more experienced, more seasoned and knew how to handle this moment of pressure. Despite the game being decided by a detail, we had a clear and great opportunity at the end with [Vitor] Roque. And there was a very dubious play at the beginning of the game. But, anyway, we move on. Flamengo was better, and that's all there is to it.
"One team is mature, and the other has a present and a bright future. Our opponent was better; life isn't just about victories, and it's at this moment that we have to be resilient. Since I've been here, we've come three times and won twice. We beat this opponent once, reached a semi-final, and a quarter-final once. We'll try to get there again next year. That's all I can say.”
Flamengo are almost certain to secure a continental and domestic double. The Rio de Janeiro club lead the table by five points from Palmeiras, with just two matches left to play. Should Mengão secure success domestically, it would repeat the Brasileirão and Cope Libertadores double achieved by Jorge Jesus at the club in 2019.
