27 November 2006, by Sean Gillen

Carvalho rescues point for Chelsea

Portuguese Abroad weekend round-up

The big match in the English Premiership ended all square as Ricardo Carvalho’s second half goal earned Chelsea a point against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United - match report. Paulo Ferreira came off the bench late on for the Blues as United remain three points clear at the top going into a full midweek programme of fixtures in England.

Ricardo Vaz Te continued in his role of late substitute as Bolton recorded an impressive 3-1 victory over Arsenal at the Reebok. Nuno Valente returned to the Everton line-up, but was guilty of giving away possession that led to Charlton’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

Luis Boa Morte’s Fulham lost 1-0 at home to Reading, while Pedro Mendes was replaced with 20 minutes left as Portsmouth went down to a single goal at Newcastle.

Real Madrid won the weekend’s big game in Spain, beating Valencia 2-1 at the Mestalla to seriously damage Los Ches’ title hopes. Miguel started and Hugo Viana was introduced late on as Valencia slip eleven points behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga.

Deco impresses

The champions Barca coasted to a 4-0 win over Villarreal, with Deco impressing in midfield. Ze Castro and Maniche started while Costinha was on the bench for Atletico Madrid’s disappointing 1-1 home draw against Real Sociedad.

Beto got on the scoresheet for Recreativo, but the former Portugal international was then sent off and saw his side lose 4-3 at Racing Santander after getting the first for his side. Jorge Andrade was not included in the Deportivo squad for their 4-1 defeat at Osasuna. Jose Nunes was part of the Mallorca backline as the Islanders won 3-2 away at Gimnastic.

Inter Milan increased their lead at the top of Serie A to four points after beating previously second placed Palermo 2-1 away from home. Luis Figo remained on the bench for the Nerazurri, as goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Patrick Vieira saw them through. Fernando Couto played the full 90 minutes as Parma lost 2-0 at Catania, and Jose Vidigal watched from the bench during Livorno’s 2-2 draw away to Reggina.

In France, Pedro Pauleta’s Paris Saint-Germain were held to a 1-1 draw at Nantes, while Tiago missed champions Lyon’s 1-0 victory over Auxerre. Marco Ramos played the full match in defence as his Lens side drew 1-1 at Le Mans.

Werder Bremen move to within two points of leaders Schalke in the German Bundesliga with a 3-0 home win over Arminia Bielefeld. Hugo Almeida was given a rare start for Bremen, but was withdrawn on 68 minutes. Fernando Meira captained Stuttgart to a 1-0 win over Ze Antonio’s Gladbach.

Manuel da Costa was withdrawn twenty minutes from time as PSV hammered FC Utrecht 5-0 in the Dutch Eredivisie. Hearts’ uninspiring form in Scotland continues with Bruno Aguiar playing as the Jambos drew 0-0 with Inverness Caledonian Thistle to slip down to fifth.

Sa Pinto hits the net

Former Sporting forward Sa Pinto was on the scoresheet for Standard Liege as the Belgian side beat GB Antwerpen 3-1 to stay fourth in the Jupiler League. Nuno Coelho came on as a late substitute for Standard.

Dynamo Moscow’s final match of the Russian season saw them beat newly crowned champions CSKA Moscow. Danny and Derlei played as Dynamo beat Porto’s champions league opponents 2-1 away from home.

Carlitos scored for FC Sion in their 3-1 Swiss Super League win over Thun, with defender Joao Pinto also starting for the home side and Nelson Ferreira playing for the visitors. In Greece, Daniel Fernandes was in goal as PAOK Salonika were beaten 1-0 at Xanthi.

Star Performer

Ricardo Carvalho

The former Porto man was a rock for his side at Old Trafford, and his crucial goal with 20 minutes remaining earned a point for his side, and strong praise from his manager.

Earlier round-ups:
20/11/06 Star Performer - Maniche
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