18 September 2006, by Sean Gillen

Portuguese Abroad Weekly Round-up

Conceicao hits form to boost Standard Liege

In Belgium Standard Liege appear to have finally turned the corner after their poor start to the season. Sergio Conceicao scored the winner as Standard made it two victories in a row in the Jupiler League, beating FC Brussels 2-1 at home. Miguel Areias started the game alongside Conceicao, while Nuno Coelho was introduced as a substitute.

In England Pedro Mendes’ Portsmouth are the surprise leaders of the Premiership, after the former Porto midfielder helped his side to a single goal win at Charlton Athletic. Pompey go top because Manchester United’s flying start to the new season ended with a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal, with Cristiano Ronaldo playing for the Reds.

Chelsea took advantage of United’s slip-up to move level on points with the Old Trafford club. Jose Mourinho started Ricardo Carvalho and introduced Paulo Ferreira as a late substitute as a Didier Drogba goal beat Liverpool 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Ricardo Vaz Te was a second half substitute for Bolton in their 0-0 draw with Middlesbrough, while Nuno Valente continued his comeback from injury by playing the final 13 minutes as Everton were held 2-2 by Wigan. Luis Boa Morte played as Fulham and Tottenham played out a 0-0 draw.

In Spain Barcelona continue to score at will, Deco helping the Catalans to a 3-0 win at Racing Santander. Duda came on in the second half for Sevilla as they won the Seville derby 3-2 to go top of La Liga. Miguel played the full 90 minutes for Valencia as his side went joint-top with Sevilla and Barca with a 2-0 home win over Getafe.

Maniche debut

Maniche made his debut as a sub for Atletico Madrid as they recovered from last week’s defeat at Valencia with a 4-1 win at Bilbao. Costinha played the full match for Atletico, while Ze Castro watched from the bench. Fabio Felecio played the final 17 minutes of Sociedad’s 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid. Jose Nunes’ Mallorca went down 2-0 at Zaragoza.

A Stuttgart side missing Fernando Meira produced a shock result in the Bundesliga, coming from behind to beat Hugo Almeida’s Werder Bremen 3-2. Ze Antonio’s Gladbach lost 4-2 at Alemania Aarchen.

Luis Figo was brought on as a second half substitute as Inter rested key players for their home match with Sampdoria, with the midweek match with Roma in mind. The decision backfired, though, as the Nerazurri were held to a 1-1 draw at the San Siro. Ricardo Esteves played the full 90 minutes for Reggina as they beat Cagliari 2-1 at home.

Tiago on the mark

Tiago was again on target for Lyon in Ligue 1, the former Benfica midfielder scoring the opening goal in his side’s 3-1 win at Lorient. Pedro Pauleta captained PSG to a long overdue win at Monaco, the Parisians coming from behind to win 2-1. Left-back Manuel da Costa watched from the bench as his PSV side beat rivals Feyenoord 2-1 at home.

Hearts won 1-0 at Motherwell without selecting any of their Portuguese contingent to get their title challenge back on track. Fellow Scottish side Falkirk introduced Pedro Moutinho with ten minutes remaining in their 2-0 home defeat to Aberdeen.

Dynamo Moscow continue to struggle in Russia. Ciciero was the only Portuguese used as he came off the bench during the 0-0 home draw with Amkar. Steaua Bucharest followed up their midweek victory in the Champions League with a frustrating 1-1 home draw with city rivals Rapid, with Carlos keeping goal for Steaua.

PAOK Salonika recovered from last week’s defeat to Olympiakos with a home win over Ergotelis in the Greek top flight, with Daniel Fernandes keeping a clean sheet in the home side’s goal.

Star Performer

Sergio Conceicao

After being handed a lengthy ban during his side’s title challenge last season, it could be felt that Sergio Conceicao owes Standard Liege some of his best performances. The former Porto wide man scored a second-half winner to give his side a crucial win in the Jupiler League after midweek UEFA Cup disappointment.

Earlier round-ups:
11/09/06 Star Performer - Ricardo Carvalho
28/08/06 Star Performer - Figo
21/08/06 Star Performer - Deco