Rui Vitória led Spartak Moscow to their first victory of the Russian Premier League season on Friday evening - the ideal preparation ahead of a meeting with former club Benfica in the Champions League qualifiers next week.
Spartak ran out 1-0 winners at Krylya Sovetov in Samara thanks to Alexander Sobolov’s penalty, recovering from last weekend’s opening-day defeat against Rubin Kazan. With Wednesday’s Champions league qualifier first leg with Benfica in the Russian capital approaching, a first victory for Vitoria is a huge boost for the club.
Fábio Silva has been speaking to the media as Wolverhampton Wanderers continue their preparations ahead of the new season under Bruno Lage with friendlies in Andalusia, Spain.
Young Portuguese coach António Oliveira has only been in charge of Brazilian club Athletico Paranaense for around three months, yet during that time Athletico have competed in four competitions and played 32 matches in a grueling fixture schedule.
Gonçalo Paciência is back at Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of the upcoming Bundesliga season, and for the ex-Porto striker there is little doubt the new campaign represents a pivotal moment in his career.
It’s been a frustrating six months for João Félix. Things appeared to be on the up for the former Benfica star early last season as he picked up the November Player of the Month award in La Liga following a string of dazzling performances for Atletico Madrid.