16 October 2006, by Sean Gillen

Portuguese duo hit the net in France

Portuguese Abroad Weekly Round-up

After poor form and unwanted negative publicity in the press, Paris Saint Germain ended their recent slump with a 4-2 home win over Sedan. It came as no surprise that Pedro Pauleta was at the heart of the victory, the Azorean scoring twice for the side from the capital. Champions Lyon continue to win, and Tiago was also on the scoresheet in a 2-1 win over St Etienne.

Chelsea kept pace with Manchester United at the top of the Premiership, with Jose Mourinho selecting Paulo Ferreira in the narrow 1-0 win at Reading. United stay top though after a 3-1 victory over Wigan, despite being without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manuel Fernandes started his first Premiership game alongside Pedro Mendes in the Portsmouth midfield, and the team beat West Ham 2-0. Ricardo Vaz Te watched Bolton’s 2-1 win at Newcastle from the bench, but Nuno Valente’s Everton were left disappointed by a 2-1 defeat at Middlesbrough.

Atletico on the rise

In Spain, champions Barcelona rested Deco for their impressive 3-1 win over high-flying Sevilla at the Nou Camp, while Duda was left on the bench for the visitors. Atletico Madrid continue to climb the table, and Maniche started and Costinha came on in their 2-1 win over Recreativo.

Miguel’s Valencia suffered a setback, though, losing 3-2 at Celta Vigo. Jose Nunes’ vow that his side’s defence would improve came to fruition as Mallorca beat Levante 1-0 away from home, while Fabio Felicio played in Sociedad 3-1 defeat by Zaragoza.

Fernando Meira’s return from injury lasted just 34 minutes, after the defender pulled up with a muscle injury in Stuttgart’s 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, his replacement in the Portugal squad, Ze Antonio, was in the Gladbach backline for a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg.

Inter’s preparation for the Champions League went according to plan. The Nerazurri beat Catania 2-1 in Serie A, with Luis Figo playing his part in the victory. In Scotland, Bruno Aguiar played the last fifteen minutes of Hearts’ 2-2 draw at Hibernian and Pedro Moutinho was in the Falkirk side held 1-1 at home by St Mirren.

Belgian side Standard Liege recorded a welcome win in the Jupiler League. Miguel Areias and Sergio Conceicao started and Sa Pinto came on in a 2-1 win over Roeselare. Dynamo slipped down to second from bottom in the Russian Premier League, after a 3-1 defeat at Luch Energiya, with Danny and Moreira starting and Cicero coming on for the troubled Moscow side.

In Romania, goalkeeper Carlos’ Steaua Bucharest beat CFR Cluj 4-2 to move into second. Steaua remain 9 points behind the impressive Dynamo Bucharest, however, who have won all 11 of their games so far this season.

Star Performer

Tiago

The former Benfica midfielder has started the season in superb form for the French champions. His goal at the weekend brings his season’s tally for Lyon up the four.

Earlier round-ups:
02/10/06 Star Performer - Cristiano Ronaldo
25/09/06 Star Performer - Cristiano Ronaldo
18/09/06 Star Performer - Sergio Conceicao
11/09/06 Star Performer - Ricardo Carvalho
28/08/06 Star Performer - Figo
21/08/06 Star Performer - Deco