Portuguese Football in English
There was a special moment for Portuguese youngster Jota on Thursday night as he scored his first goal for Celtic in front of the home supporters at Celtic Park in the Scottish League Cup.
The Benfica loanee, 22, opened the scoring in a 3-0 win over Raith Rovers which saw The Hoops advance to the semi-finals. For Jota, who has already impressed since arriving in Glasgow, a first goal in Celtic colours as he started and finished the move to put Celtic ahead midway through the first half.
Éder is finally back in football after signing a contract with Saudi Arabian side Al-Raed on Thursday after months as a free agent following his departure from Lokomotiv Moscow.
The 33-year-old left Russia at the end of last season after four years in Moscow, and had been linked with a host of clubs particularly in the Middle East and North America.
The recent game between Republic of Ireland and Portugal highlighted a potential issue for Manchester United fans as Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes struggled to link up, having just one shot in the entire first half from a penalty that had been controversially won by Fernandes. Ronaldo saw his spot-kick saved by Gavin Bazunu and struggled after that despite Portugal dominating possession.
Although Fernandes is seen more of a playmaker, they both like to take on opponents.
However they were both guilty of losing the ball on numerous occasions and if that were to happen on multiple occasions for United, familiar concerns about the duo playing in the same team could extend to the Old Trafford faithful.
Cristiano Ronaldo continues to enjoy a remarkable return to Manchester United, with the Portugal captain maintaining his record of scoring in each game since rejoining the Red Devils. Ronaldo scored a vital equaliser on Sunday as United came from behind to win an eventful match at West Ham United.
Elsewhere, there were stunning strikes by Raphael Guerreiro for Borussia Dortmund in Germany and Dany Mota in Italy’s Serie B with Monza, as well as a goal for Domingos Duarte against Barcelona at Camp Nou. Veterans Vieirinha and Marco Paixão both scored winning goals in Greece and Turkey respectively, while there was a superb debut for Pedro Rebocho in Poland and Daniel Candeias was a match-winner for Alanyaspor against Galatasaray.
As one of the biggest signings in the recent history of Manchester United, CR7’s return from Juventus where Cristiano Ronaldo had been playing since 2018 has been game-changing. Already with four goals in just three games – albeit one in a shocking UEFA Champions League loss in Switzerland – the United legend looks set to further enhance his standing with the Old Trafford faithful.
However, for all of the benefits of having one of the best natural scorers in entire football history in the team, one other major benefit has been noted by former United frontman Louis Saha.
