Gelson Martins continues to play a starring role in Leonardo Jardim’s revival of Ligue 1 strugglers Monaco in France. The former Sporting forward scored the winning goal as Jardim’s side beat Nantes 1-0 to make it seven points from three games since his return to the Stade Louis II last month.
Elsewhere, there were goals for Cristiano Ronaldo and Ivan Cavaleiro, while on the managerial front it was a good weekend for Pedro Martins in Greece as his Olympiakos side beat AEK Athens 4-1. However, there was less positive news for coaches Ricardo Sá Pinto, Miguel Cardoso, José Gomes and Pedro Caixinha in Poland, Spain, England and Mexico respectively. On the goals front, there were further strikes for Portuguese in Greece, Cyprus and Hungary.
“If we continue like this, we will stay up”
Jardim selected all three of his Portuguese contingent for the home match with Nantes on Saturday, with Adrien Silva drafted in for his first league start since joining from Leicester in January. However, it would be Gelson and creator Rony Lopes who contributed to the decisive moment, with Lopes finding Gelson at the back post to score the only goal of the game on 13 minutes.
“There is a progression,” Jardim said after the game. “We have accumulated 7 points in 3 games, the group shows solidarity and commitment, and tonight we played like a real team and we had a good attitude.
“My players have tried to offer offensive play. Nantes have remained balanced throughout this game. We also needed to be attentive because they have quality players and we conceded one real opportunity in 90 minutes. It also shows that we managed to control our opponent and the players are very focused on their work.
“We are thinking of earning as many points as possible, and the standings will be seen at the end of the season. If we continue at this level, we will stay up. It’s good, but it’s not over. We have 13 games and a lot of points to go after. All future games will be wars. We will push our limits.
“Our challenge is obviously to stay up, but also to reach the level of the teams that play the best in France”
Elsewhere in France, Lille’s winning run came to an end as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Montpellier. Lille had won five consecutive games in the league and had been free-scoring, with Rafael Leão in strong form in front of goal of late. However, with Portuguese trio José Fonte, Xeca and youngster Leão in the side, Lille could not make the breakthrough against a Montpellier side with Pedro Mendes in the backline.
Special hat-trick for Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored and assisted a goal in Juventus’ last three matches, something the Portugal captain has only done once before during his career. Ronaldo squared the ball for Paolo Dybala’s sensational opener and later finished expertly from a Mario Mandzukic pull-back as Juve brushed aside Frosinone 3-0 in Serie A.
Ronaldo previously contributed a goal and assist in both of Juve’s recent matches against Parma and Sassuolo in the Italian top flight. Statisticians OPTA calculated that the only other time the Portuguese pulled off the feat was in November 2014 while playing in Spain for Real Madrid. Ronaldo will be hoping to take such form into his return to Madrid on Wednesday as Juventus meet Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Jordão makes Serie A bow
Appearing in Serie A for the first time this weekend was Lazio youngster Bruno Jordão, who made his Italian league debut in their 2-1 defeat at Genoa. The Rome club recently handed a debut to fellow Portuguese Pedro Neto, 18, and 20-year-old Jordão was drafted in for the last twenty minutes in Genoa. Both players arrived at Lazio from Braga in 2017.
“A moment of joy” for Nuno as Cavaleiro sees Wolves into last eight
It was FA Cup weekend in England, with 16 teams battling to book their places in the quarter finals. Wolverhampton Wanderers secured their place in the last eight on Sunday with a battling victory at dangerous Championship outfit Bristol City, thanks to former Benfica forward Ivan Cavaleiro’s first-half strike at Ashton Gate.
Nuno Espírito Santo made some changes to his starting line-up for the trip, despite Bristol coming into the game having won nine matches in a row and unbeaten since November. Diogo Jota and Rui Patrício were not in the matchday squad, while Rúben Neves dropped to the bench and Cavaleiro was handed his third start since the turn of the year. João Moutinho played in midfield and came close to getting on the scoresheet when his free-kick smacked off the top of the crossbar in the second half.
Nuno’s decision to select Cavaleiro proved inspired, with the 25-year-old sweeping home after a typically well crafted Wolves break down the right side just before the half hour. Cavaleiro also scored in the previous round during Wolves’ win over Shrewsbury, but this goal was especially important as Wolves, who impressed in the first half, escaped after a barrage of late pressure from the hosts.
“The boys were very brave today,” the former Porto boss said after the final whistle. “It was two different halves, first-half us, second-half Bristol City’s. The only way to build a team is with discipline and consistency. Everybody involved is important, credit is for the group and the club.
“I respect the competition, but we respect all the games. We’re always trying to pick the best options, that allows us to compete in the best way. I’m very happy. It was very tough but I’m very happy for the boys and for our fans. It’s a moment of joy.”
“No time to cry” as Gomes’ Reading well beaten
José Gomes took his Reading side to in-form promotion chasers Sheffield United on Saturday, and the Royals left Yorkshire with a 4-0 defeat. Gomes selected Nélson Oliveira up front for the visitors, with the Portugal striker replaced after 75 minutes for Reading, who trailed 4-0 from early in the second half.
“I didn’t like what we did today and the way that we played,” said Gomes, who had seen his side unbeaten in their previous four games to move out of the relegation zone. “The difference between the teams wasn’t as big as the score, but they fought more than us and they deserved to win.
“This is an intense league. We don’t have time to cry. We have to look in the mirror, find what we have to improve in ourselves, and be better in the next match. I said it when we won, as well. Whatever the result, there is no time to cry or to celebrate. We have to recover and prepare for the next game.”
Carvalho sidelined by new regime
Staying in The Championship, João Carvalho is finding opportunities tough to come by under new Nottingham Forest manager Martin O’Neill. The former Benfica man was a key figure under previous Forest coach Aitor Karanka, but has not started a game since the Spanish boss left in early January, with his latest of just two substitute appearances coming in Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Preston.
Heavy defeat for Cardoso in Spain
Levante inflicted a 4-1 defeat on Miguel Cardoso’s Celta Vigo on Saturday, leaving the Portuguese to reflect on his side teetering one point above the relegation zone in Spain’s La Liga standings. Cardoso’s men found themselves 2-0 down at the break and 3-0 down just after the hour to a rampant Levante, who had Rúben Vezo in defence.
Celta had Riyad Boudebouz sent off just after the interval which all but ended hopes of a comeback, but Cardoso was honest in his assessment of his side’s first-half showing. “In the first half it was not easy for us because Levante’s pressure was very intense and the nature of our players does not allow us to play deeply. In the second half the match was quite different,” the former Rio Ave boss said.
“The defending [in conceding four goals] is a collective task. Mistakes in La Liga come at a price and we made them in the first half. You have to have more ball possession so that your opponent doesn’t create chances against you.”
Sá Pinto’s Legia fail to capitalise as Flavio Paixão has off day
Ricardo Sá Pinto was left to rue a missed opportunity as his Legia Warsaw lost further ground on leaders Lechia Gdansk at the top of the Polish Ekstraklasa. Lechia Gdansk have been this season’s surprise pace-setters, leading the table for much of the campaign, but this weekend saw them drop two points in their tough trip to Korona Kielce.
The sides played out a goalless draw, but for Lechia striker Flávio Paixão it was a frustrating afternoon as the Portuguese marksman missed a penalty early in the second half. The veteran striker has scored from the spot five times this season, which has helped him to become the joint-leading goalscorer in the Ekstraklasa.
However, by Sunday Lechia’s point had helped them extend their 3-point advantage at the top to four points, as chasers Legia Warsaw were beaten 2-0 at home by Cracovia Krakow. Legia boss Ricardo Sá Pinto selected Portuguese trio André Martins, Cafú and Salvador Agra for the match, with Iuri Medeiros coming on for the final twelve minutes.
Paixão was not the only Portuguese to miss a penalty in Poland this weekend. Former Setúbal, Braga and Chaves midfielder Pedro Tiba failed to convert for Poch Poznan, although the 30-year-old’s miss during stoppage time was hardly a major factor as his side were beaten 4-0 Piast Gliwice.
Martin’s Olympiakos firing in Greece
Pedro Martins’ Olympiakos enjoyed the perfect preparation for their Europa League second leg with Dinamo Kiev on Thursday, by hammering rivals AEK Athens 4-1 in Piraeus on Sunday. Martins’ side, which contained José Sá, Daniel Podence and Gil Dias, overturned a 1-0 half time deficit to put some pressure on Super League leaders PAOK, who remain six points clear ahead of their match on Monday.
“AEK planned the game well, they took advantage of our condition after two bad results by scoring early,” Martins conceded to the media after the match. “But we knew we would get better. We have experienced players and we managed to play the way we should in the second half.
“Of course it helps us ahead of Thursday, and it is very important that we won a derby. The fans deserved such a game and I think we won fairly and in a beautiful way. It is important to prepare for the next game after such a win. We believe in our quality, our capabilities and our chance of progressing in Kiev.”
More goals
Also in Greece, there was a goal for former Belenenses and Braga defender Dinis Almeida in Xanthi’s 1-1 draw at Larissa. The 23-year-old, who was also on the books at French club Monaco last season, got the equaliser in the first half with his first goal in Greek football.
Staying in southern Europe, there was a brace for ex Porto and Académica midfielder Leandro Silva as title-chasers AEL beat Nea Salamis 3-2 to stay within a point of league leaders APOEL. Meanwhile in Hungary, Rui Pedro (pictured) scored his first goal for Szombathelyi Haladas since his January move from Ferencvaros, but could not prevent his new side from going down 2-1 to Mezokovesd-Zsory.
Portuguese bosses
Things are not going well for Pedro Caixinha’s Cruz Azul in the early stages of the Mexican Liga MX Clausura. Caixinha’s side languish in 14th place in the standings after seven matches of the new campaign, with Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Santos Laguna making it three matches without a win in the league for the Portuguese.
Over in Romania, it has also been a slow start for CFR Cluj since the resumption of the Liga I this month. Antonio Conceição’s side led the standings by six points going into the winter break, but Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Astra means Cluj have just two points from three games since the league started up again earlier this month. Camora played in defence for Cluj, whose lead at the top could be reduced to just one point when Dinamo Bucharest play on Monday.
By Sean Gillen
