17 April 2006, by Sean Gillen

Portuguese Abroad round-up

Lyon celebrate fifth straight title, Chelsea and Barcelona almost champions

Chelsea took a huge step towards retaining their Premiership title with a 2-0 win at Bolton. Jose Mourinho used Paulo Ferreira as Chelsea’s win stretched their lead at the top to 9 points. Ricardo Vaz Te started the match and hit the post early on. The Blues’ result was even more significant after title rivals Manchester United failed to beat bottom-placed Sunderland at Old Trafford.

Luis Boa Morte was in fine form for Fulham, scoring both goals in their 2-1 win over Charlton. Pedro Mendes played as Portsmouth’s 1-0 win against Middlesbrough lifted them out of the relegation zone for the first time since November. Nuno Valente missed Everton’s 1-0 home loss to Tottenham as he continues to recover from injury.

In Spain, Deco played the full 90 minutes as Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Villarreal edged them closer to the title. Valencia continue to look favourites for the runners-up spot. With Miguel at right-back, they hammered Espanyol 4-0. Hugo Viana was not used in the emphatic win, spending the whole game on the bench. Edgar played as Malaga drew 1-1 at Osasuna.

In Serie A, the Milan derby saw Luis Figo’s Inter side lose 1-0 to Milan, who introduced Rui Costa for the final 10 minutes. Fernando Couto was absent for Parma’s 2-1 win at Samdporia and Jose Vidigal missed Udinese’s 2-1 win away at Lecce.

Tiago followed up his Premiership success with Chelsea last season with a French league winners medal as Lyon won their 5th title in a row. Second-placed Bordeaux, without Beto, lost 3-2 at Lille, which meant that Lyon were confirmed champions before their 1-0 win at Pauleta’s Paris Saint Germain.

Helder Postiga came on for the last 15 minutes of St Etienne’s 2-0 win at home to Lens but Jose Delfim again failed to earn a place in the Marseille squad that won 6-0 against Nancy.

In Germany, Fernando Meira was suspended as Stuttgart drew 3-3 with Hanover, for whom Ricardo Sousa remained on the bench.

Standard Liege’s 1-0 win over FC Brussels saw them maintain their 1-point lead over Anderlecht at the top of the Belgian Juliper League. Jorge Costa and Almani Moreira played, as a 24th-minute goal from Milan Rapaic gave Standard the win.

In Romania, Carlos kept a clean sheet in Steaua Bucharest’s 1-0 win over Poli Iasi. The win leaves them in second place, three points behind city rivals Dinamo with two games in hand.

Hearts strengthened their hold on second place in the Scottish Premiership as Jose Goncalves and Bruno Aguiar helped the Edinburgh side to a 2-0 win over Kilmarnok. The result saw Hearts extend their lead over third place Rangers to 5 points with four games remaining.

Star Performer

Luis Boa Morte

The Fulham captain provided another reminder of his talents as he scored both goals in Fulham’s 2-1 win over Charlton. After scoring a clever free-kick, Boa Morte dribbled past several Charlton defenders before coolly finding the bottom corner.

Earlier round-ups:
20/02/06 Star Performer - Miguel
27/02/06 Star Performer - Cristiano Ronaldo
06/03/06 Star Performer - Sérgio Conceição
13/03/06 Star Performer - Pedro Mendes
20/03/06 Star Performer - Luís Boa Morte
27/03/06 Star Performer - Fernando Couto
03/04/06 Star Performer - Pauleta
10/04/06 Star Performer - Jorge Costa