11 September 2006, by Sean Gillen

Portuguese Abroad Weekly Round-up

Carvalho scores Chelsea winner

Ricardo Carvalho was the hero for Chelsea, scoring the winner for Jose Mourinho’s men in their 2-1 win over fellow London side Charlton at Stamford Bridge. Manchester United remain top of the Premiership, however, and Cristiano Ronaldo played his part in a scrappy 1-0 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford.

Two Portuguese players made their comebacks to first-team duty in the Premiership after injury, with Pedro Mendes returning for high-flying Portsmouth’s 1-0 win over Wigan and Nuno Valente playing the final few minutes of Everton’s impressive 3-0 Merseyside derby win over Liverpool.

Ricardo Vaz Te was an early substitute for Bolton, coming on to replace the injured Nicky Hunt 34 minutes into the Trotters’ 1-0 win over Watford. Fulham captain Luis Boa Morte played the full 90 minutes as his side recorded a rare away win, 2-1 over Newcastle at St James’ Park.

Deco, Beto and Miguel victorious

In Spain, Deco helped Barcelona to a comfortable 3-0 win over Osasuna, while Beto came on as a 65th minute substitute as his Recreativo side enjoyed a 1-0 win at Villarreal. Miguel made his first full appearance of the season for Valencia in his side’s 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid, for whom Costinha played the full match.

Jose Nunes was part of the Mallorca backline that kept a clean sheet in their 0-0 draw with Deportivo, while midfielder Fabio Felicio made his home debut for Real Sociedad, coming on as a substitute during their 3-1 home defeat to Sevilla.

Pedro Pauleta’s penalty was not enough for PSG as the side from the capital went down 3-1 at home to bitter rivals Marseille in La Championnat. Tiago played the first 73 minutes of Lyon’s 2-0 over Troyes, but was substituted with the midweek Champions League clash with Real Madrid in mind.

In Serie A, defending champions Inter and Luis Figo saw off a late comeback from Fiorentina to open with a 3-2 win and three points at the Artemio Franchi. Jose Vidigal played the final 20 minutes of Livorno’s 2-0 defeat at Roma.

Standard Liege back on track

Sa Pinto was on the score sheet from the penalty spot as Standard Liege got their season back on track with a 3-1 win at Lierse in the Belgian Jupiler League. Miguel Areias and Sergio Conceicao also played for Standard in a result which sees the side move up to 10th after a poor start.

Hearts suffered a setback in their Scottish Premier League title aspirations when a side without any of their three-man Portuguese contingent lost 1-0 at home to St Mirren. Defender Virgilio Teixeira was forced to withdraw early on in RKC Waalwijk’s match with FC Utrecht in the Dutch Eredivisie. The defender, who has already scored two goals this season, then watched his side get hammered 5-0.

Dynamo Moscow suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat at mid-table Saturn in the Russian Premier League, with Danny and Cicero starting the match while new signing, Almani Moriera, was an unused substitute. In Romania, Steaua Bucharest continued their impressive start to the new season, winning 1-0 at Arges, with Carlos in goal for the champions.

There was disappointment for highly-rated goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes in Greece as the Portuguese’s poor clearance led to him being lobbed by Neri Castillo as Olympiakos defeated PAOK Salonika 2-0.

Roberto Pinto helped Grasshoppers to a 3-1 win over Aarau in the Swiss Super League, while former Sporting man Delfim played the full 90 mins as Young Boys lost 1-0 at Schaffhausen, for whom young midfielder Carlos da Silva made a late appearance.

Star Performer

Ricardo Carvalho

The defender scored what could turn out to be a crucial winner for Chelsea at home to Charlton, with his side looking to stay close to early season pacesetters, Manchester United. With the Blues having only three natural centre-halves in their squad going into the new campaign, Carvalho’s form is likely to be a major factor in the club’s success this season.

Earlier round-ups:
28/08/06 Star Performer - Figo
21/08/06 Star Performer - Deco