29 January 2007, by Sean Gillen

Nunes, Almeida and Conceicao on the mark

Portuguese Abroad weekly round-up

It was a productive week for the Portuguese around Europe, with Jose Nunes, Hugo Almeida, Sergio Conceicao and Tiago Carneiro all finding the net to help their teams to victory.

Mallorca central defender Jose Nunes was back amongst the goals in Spain, scoring the second as his side defeated Recreativo 2-1 at the ONO Estadi. Beto took his place in the heart of the Recre defence.

Barcelona remain top of La Liga after Deco played in a 3-1 home win over Celta Vigo, while title rivals Sevilla won 4-2 at Levante without winger Duda. Valencia started with Miguel at right-back as they slipped up at Real Betis, losing 2-1 as Hugo Viana watched from the bench.

Atletico Madrid’s poor home form was once again evident as a side containing Ze Castro and Maniche drew 1-1 with Racing at the Vicente Calderon. Costinha was left on the bench for Los Rojiblancos. Jorge Andrade was part of the Deportivo side that managed a 1-1 draw at high-flying Zaragoza.

Chelsea finding form

Chelsea made it two cup successes in a week as they defeated Nottingham Forest 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup. Ricardo Carvalho started for Chelsea, while Nuno Morais made an 81st minute appearance from the bench.

Manchester United joined The Blues in the last sixteen with a 2-1 win over Portsmouth at Old Trafford. The home side rested Cristiano Ronaldo, while Pedro Mendes had a lively afternoon for Pompey.

Ricardo Rocha gave an assured display on his debut for Tottenham Hotspur as they beat lower league side Southend 3-1 at White Hart Lane. Luis Boa Morte was in action as out-of-form West Ham exited the competition after slumping to a 1-0 home defeat against Watford.

Ricardo Vaz Te was an 83rd minute substitute as Bolton earned a replay following a 1-1 draw at Arsenal, and Abel Xavier played for Middlesbrough in a 2-2 draw with Bristol City.

Serie A champions Inter remain eleven points clear at the top in Italy after yet another win, 2-0 away at Sampdoria as Luis Figo played the second half. Fernando Couto’s Parma put up a brave fight before going down 1-0 to Milan at the San Siro, while Jose Vidigal played the full 90 minutes for Livorno in their 2-1 defeat at Fiorentina.

Draws all round in France

In France, champions Lyon continue to stutter, Tiago playing the final 25 minutes of a 1-1 draw at home with Nice that means it is three matches without a win in Ligue 1. However, Lens failed to make up any ground on the leaders as a side containing Marco Ramos drew 3-3 at home with St Etienne.

Paris Saint-Germain’s struggles show no signs of improving as Pauleta’s men were held to a 0-0 draw against Sochaux at the Parc Des Princes, leaving them just one point above the drop zone.

Werder Bremen stay top of the German Bundesliga after Hugo Almeida came off the bench to score in their 3-0 win over Hannover. Sergio Pinto was taken off with less than twenty minutes on the clock as Alemannia Aachen lost 3-2 at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

It was a bad weekend for the Portuguese defenders in Germany, as Fernando Meira’s Stuttgart were hammered 4-1 at Nurnberg, Ze Antonio and Gladbach lost 3-1 to Cottbus and Alex watched from the bench as his Wolfsburg side were beaten, 2-1, at Hertha Berlin.

Standard Liege made it two wins from two in 2007 in the Belgian Jupiler league with a 5-2 thrashing of Charleroi. The only Portuguese in the side, Sergio Conceicao, levelled the scores at 2-2 in the 37th minute, and Standard scored three goals in the second half.

In Holland, leaders PSV suffered a shock defeat as Manuel Da Costa could only make the bench for a 2-0 loss at Roda JC. Scottish side Hearts selected Bruno Aguiar in midfield as they came away from Rangers with a 0-0 draw, while Vitor Lima played for Falkirk in their 2-0 defeat at home to Kilmarnock.

PAOK Salonika’s poor form in Greece continued as, with Daniel Fernandes in goal, they drew 0-0 at Ergotelis. PAOK have now won just one from their last eight Super League games, and slip down to fifth in the table. Former Sporting man Lourenco was in the Panionios side beaten 2-0 by heavyweights Panathinaikos.

In Cyprus, bottom of the league Olympiakos Nicosia won only their second league game of the season, winning 2-0 away at seventh place AEL. Forward Tiago Carneiro scored the clinching goal for his side, while Portuguese midfielder Hugo Machado earned strong praise for his performance in midfield.

Ricardo Fernandes and Helio Pinto were in the side as champions and league leaders APOEL defeated Pafos 2-1 at home to stay four points clear at the top of the Cypriot first division.

Star Performer

Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

The former Porto forward struggled to find his goalscoring touch in the first half of the season after a bright start, but made his mark on Bremen’s opening match of 2007, coming off the bench to score the second in the leaders’ 3-0 win over Hannover.

Earlier round-ups:
22/01/06 Star Performer - Ze Castro
15/01/06 Star Performer - Jose Nunes
08/01/06 Star Performer - Jorge Andrade
21/12/06 Star Performer - Beto
18/12/06 Star Performer - Maniche
11/12/06 Star Performer - Ronaldo
04/12/06 Star Performer - Deco
27/11/06 Star Performer - Ricardo Carvalho
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