20 November 2006, by Sean Gillen

Maniche brace boosts Atletico

Portuguese Abroad weekend round-up

Maniche scored his first goals for Atletico Madrid since his summer arrival, getting a brace in his side’s 3-0 win at Levante as Los Rojiblancos move up to fifth. Ze Castro kept his place in central defence for Atletico, while Costinha came on as a substitute on the hour mark.

Deco played the full 90 minutes as Barcelona hammered Jose Nunes’ Mallorca 4-1 at the Ono Estadi to stay top of La Liga. Sevilla introduced Duda as a late sub as they kept pace with the champions after beating Valencia 3-0 at home, with Hugo Viana and Miguel playing from the start for Los Ches.

Jorge Andrade missed Deportivo’s 1-0 derby defeat to Galician rivals Celta Vigo, while Beto’s Recreativo beat Osasuna 2-0 to record their third successive victory. Fabio Felicio played the final 25 minutes of Real Sociedad’s 0-0 draw with Betis.

In the Premiership, top two Chelsea and Manchester United both won ahead of their clash next Sunday at Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes as United beat Sheffield United 2-1 away from home; while Ricardo Carvalho was removed at half time through injury at the Blues beat West Ham 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Elsewhere in England, Pedro Mendes played the full 90 minutes and Manuel Fernandes watched from the bench as Portsmouth beat Watford 2-1 at Fratton Park. Nuno Valente played the full match for Everton in their 1-0 win over Bolton, for whom Ricardo Vaz Te was a last minute substitute.

Pedro Pauleta’s return from suspension failed to halt Paris Saint-Germain’s alarming slump in form. The Portuguese striker could do nothing to prevent his side from going down 2-0 at home to Bordeaux, and the side from the capital now slip down to 14th in what is their worst ever start in Ligue 1.

Tiago was an unused substitute as champions Lyon won 1-0 at Sedan, while Marco Ramos played at right-back for Lens in their 2-0 win over Nantes.

Couto returns

Fernando Couto made his return to the Parma first team in Italy, but his side were heavily beaten, 3-0 by Livorno, for whom Jose Vidigal played the final five minutes. Inter stay top of Serie A after an early Hernan Crespo goal was enough to beat Reggina at the San Siro, as Luis Figo was taken off with 15 minutes remaining.

Fernando Meira made his return to action following injury as Stuttgart relinquished their position at the top of the Bundesliga after losing 2-1 to Bayern Munich. Hugo Almeida played the last 20 minutes as Werder Bremen drew 2-2 at Aachen, and Ze Antonio’s Gladbach lost 1-0 at home to Hannover.

Miguel Areias scored his first goal for Standard Liege, giving his side a 74th minute lead at home against St. Truidense. However, Standard, who also selected Sergio Conceicao and Sa Pinto, proceeded to concede two goals to lose and stay fifth in the Jupiler League.

Manuel da Costa continued in the PSV backline for the Dutch champions’ comfortable 4-0 home win over Excelsior. In Scotland, Hearts continue to fall behind the leaders after losing 1-0 at Rangers. Bruno Aguiar played the full match in midfield for the Jambos.

Daniel Fernandes kept a clean sheet as PAOK Salonika recorded a 3-0 home win over Ionikos to climb to fourth in the Greek Super League. Danny and Derlei played in the Dynamo Moscow attack as their side beat city rivals Torpedo 2-1 in the Russian Premier League. Pedro Oliveira scored the first as CFR Cluj beat Poli Iasi 2-1 in Romania.

In Switzerland, Carlitos was withdrawn on 56 minutes as his Sion side were beaten 3-1 at Basel, although the newly promoted side remain three points off the top in third place. Midfielder Nelson Ferreira was on the scoresheet for FC Thun in their 2-1 win at St.Gallen.

Star Performer

Maniche

The former Porto man has been improving all the time since his move to Spain, and he got his first goals for his new club against Levante as he begins to show the form he displayed for his country at the World Cup.

Earlier round-ups:
13/11/06 Star Performer - Ze Castro
09/11/06 Star Performer - Hugo Viana
06/11/06 Star Performer - Carlitos
30/10/06 Star Performer - Hilario
26/10/06 Star Performer - Hilario
23/10/06 Star Performer - Manuel da Costa
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