23 October 2006, by Sean Gillen

Manuel da Costa shines for PSV

Portuguese Abroad Weekly Round-up

Left-back Manuel da Costa celebrated his first league start for Dutch champions PSV with the opening goal in his side’s 3-1 win over AZ Alkmaar, as the big four played each other in Holland. Da Costa scored after 12 minutes as PSV moved up to second behind Ajax, who beat Feyenoord.

It was a weekend of big matches across Europe this weekend, with Sporting’s clash with Porto in the Bwin Liga just one of several of the continent’s top leagues producing crucial fixtures between the top sides.

The most intriguing match of weekend was Spain’s El Grande Clasico, with Real Madrid defeating current champions Barcelona 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Deco played for the Catalans, who remain top of La Liga despite the setback.

The result gave Valencia the chance to close the gap on the champions at the top. Hugo Viana was given a rare start, along with Miguel, as Los Ches beat Osasuna 1-0 to go joint top with Barca. Jose Nunes’ Mallorca drew 0-0 at home to Real Sociedad, who withdrew Fabio Felicio after an hour. Recreativo subbed defender Beto with 25 minutes left of their 2-1 home defeat by Getafe.

Lyon already appear set to claim a sixth straight league title after hammering nearest challengers Marseille 4-1 away from home in Ligue 1 to open up an 8-point gap. Tiago missed the match through injury, but a brace from Juninho and goals from Kim Kallstrom and Karim Benzema gave the visitors a sensational win.

Meanwhile, Pauleta’s Paris Saint-Germain registered their second 0-0 draw in four days, failing to break down Auxerre. The club from the capital now sit in 13th place in La Championnat, and pressure continues to mount on manager Guy Lacombe.

Manchester United went back to the top of the Premiership after defeating arch-rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford, although Cristiano Ronaldo missed the match. Chelsea had briefly gone top after Jose Mourinho selected Hilario, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira for the 2-1 win over Portsmouth, who started with Manuel Fernandes and Pedro Mendes in midfield. Ricardo Vaz Te played the last ten minutes of Bolton’s 1-0 win at Blackburn, while Nuno Valente and Luis Boa Morte are still sidelined with injuries.

In Germany, Werder Bremen beat champions Bayern Munich 3-1 to go top of the Bundesliga. Hugo Almeida came on with ten minutes remaining for Bremen. Fernando Meira’s latest injury problem ruled him out of Stuttgart’s 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg, for whom full-back Alex played the full 90 minutes. Ze Antonio’s Gladbach lost 2-1 at Hertha Berlin.

Palermo are the new league leaders in Italy after an Inter Milan side containing Luis Figo could only draw 0-0 with Udinese, relinquishing top spot in Serie A. Former Sporting youth player Jose Semedo watched from the bench as his Cagliari side played out a goalless draw with Torino, while Jose Vidigal was also an unused substitute as Livorno’s match with Siena brought the same scoreline. Ricardo Esteves came on eight minutes into the second half of Reggina’s 3-0 loss at Fiorentina.

Hearts’ Scottish title aspirations suffered a setback with a 2-0 home loss to Kilmarnock, with Bruno Aguiar playing the final 25 minutes with his side already two goals down. In Russia, Dynamo Moscow recorded a much-needed victory at home against Spartak Nalchik. Cicero came on as a half time sub while Moreira played the full 90 mins as Dynamo move up to 14th in the 16-team Russian Premier Division.

Steaua Bucharest’s week went from bad to worse after their 4-1 hammering by Real Madrid in the Champions League. Carlos’ side were beaten 2-1 by Otelul in Liga 1, leaving them 12 points behind city rivals Dynamo, who still have a 100% record after 12 games.

Star Performer

Manuel da Costa

The promising defender has been edging closer to a place in Ronald Koeman’s side following his summer move from French club Nancy, and Da Costa announced himself in style on his first league start by scoring the first goal in his team’s crucial 3-1 win at AZ Alkmaar.

Earlier round-ups:
16/10/06 Star Performer - Tiago
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