28 May 2007, by Sean Gillen

   Portuguese abroad weekly roundup

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England

The season has finished in England.

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France

Pauleta goal king in Ligue 1

Pedro Pauleta ended the French season with the only goal in Paris Saint-Germain’s 1-0 win over Lorient, securing leadership of the Ligue 1 top goalscorers’ charts. Tiago started and played the full ninety minutes of Gerard Houllier’s final match in charge of champions Lyon, a 3-1 home victory against Nantes.

Marco Ramos had an unhappy final match of the campaign for Lens, the defender being sent off after just 34 minutes for two bookable offences as his side went down 3-0 at Troyes.

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Germany - Bundesliga

Cup heartbreak for Meira

Stuttgart failed to secure a domestic double after losing 3-2 in extra time to Nuremberg in the German Cup final on Saturday. Fernando Meira captained the newly crowned Bundesliga champions for the match, and saw his side take the lead through Brazilian forward Cacau.

Marek Mintal equalised for Nuremberg, before Cacau was sent off for raising his hands to an opponent. Nuremberg took the lead early in the second period through Marco Engelhardt, but Pavel Pardo scored from the spot ten minutes from time to send the final into extra time. Jan Kristiansen scored the decisive winner for Nuremberg in the 109th minute to deny Meira’s men a famous domestic double.

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Italy - Serie A

Figo signs off with goal

Luis Figo finished the Serie A season with a goal from the penalty spot as Inter beat Torino 3-0 at the San Siro. Parma secured their Serie A status as Fernando Couto took his place in defence for their 3-1 home win over Empoli.

Jose Semedo was handed a rare start by Cagliari, but was sent off in the last minute of their 2-1 loss at Ascoli. Ricardo Esteves missed Reggina’s 2-0 win over newly crowned European champions Milan, while Jose Vidigal was not in the Livorno squad for their 4-2 win against Atalanta.

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Spain - La Liga

Three-horse race

The quest for La Liga is now a three-horse race after Miguel played at right-back in Valencia’s 3-2 home defeat to Villarreal which saw them fall out of the running for the Spanish title. Hugo Viana was an unused substitute for Los Ches.

Barcelona remain hot on the heals of leaders Real Madrid after Deco played the full ninety minutes of their 1-0 win over Getafe, while Duda came on as a late sub to help third placed Sevilla to a 3-1 victory at home to Zaragoza.

Jorge Andrade was in the Deportivo La Coruna side beaten 3-1 at the Bernabeau by Real Madrid, while Atletico Madrid managed to respond to last week’s mauling at the hands of Barca with a 2-0 win at relegated Gimnastic. Costinha played the full match in midfield as the only Portuguese in Los Rojiblancos’ squad.

Jose Nunes played for Mallorca in their 1-0 loss at Bilbao, while Roberto Beto did the same as his Recreativo side were beaten 1-0 at home by Espanyol. Celta Vigo gave their faint survival hopes a boost with a last-minute penalty earning a 2-1 win over Real Betis, although Miguel Areias was not in the Celta squad.

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Others

Belgium

Standard Liege lost 1-0 in the Belgian Cup final to Club Brugge on Saturday evening. Sergio Conceicao played the full ninety minutes as Standard went down to a 16th minute goal from Nigerian forward Manasseh Ishiaku.

Poland

Zaglebie Lubin celebrated their second Polish title after beating Legia Warsaw 2-1 on the final day of the season. Rui Miguel came on early in the second half for Zaglebie, who last won the Polish title in 1991.

Romania

CFR Cluj finished the Romanian season in third after a 1-0 home win against Farul on the final day of the Romanian calendar on Wednesday. Tony and Ricardo Cadu started in defence for Cluj, with Manuel Jose in midfield and Antonio Semedo in attack. Former Boavista winger Pedro Oliveira entered the fray at half time, while Fredy and Dani were unused substitutes.

UTA Arad finished 12th in the Romanian Liga, despite a 2-1 last-day defeat at Universitatea Craiova. Bruno Simao was an unused substitute for Arad.

Russia

Dynamo Moscow lost 3-2 at Krylya Sovetov to slip down to 8th in the Russian Premier League on Saturday. Danny and Cicero started in attack for Dynamo, with Cicero replaced just short of the hour mark. Fabio Felicio was not involved in Rubin Kazan’s 3-0 victory over Luch Vladivostok.

Switzerland

FC Sion clinched a Uefa Cup spot on the final day of the Swiss Super League in midweek, with Carlitos scoring in a 2-0 home win over Luzern. Luis Calapes was not involved for the home side. Elsewhere, Roberto Pinto was in the side as 6th place Grasshoppers finished the campaign with a 2-0 loss at champions Zurich.

Nelson Ferreira played just under an hour for FC Thun as they sent Schaffhausen down to the second division with a 2-0 home win, with Carlos da Silva left on the bench by rock-bottom Schaffhausen.

Turkey

Konyaspor finished 9th in the Turkcell Super Lig after a frustrating final-day home loss to Gaziantepspor on Saturday, with Neca not involved for the home side for last match of his second half of the season loan from Maritimo.

Star Performer

Luis Figo (Inter Milan)

On what will probably be his last match in European football, Figo signed off with a typically assured performance against Torino, scoring from the penalty spot as Inter ran out 3-0 winners at the San Siro.

Earlier round-ups