A good night for the Portuguese in the Premier League on Tuesday evening saw Nuno Espírito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers come from behind to beat Arsenal while Manchester United and Bruno Fernandes destroyed Southampton 9-0 at Old Trafford.
João Moutinho produced a stunning winner for Wolves after Rúben Neves had scored from the penalty spot in their 2-1 win over the Gunners, and Fernandes made it a great goalscoring night for the Luso contingent with a second-half spot kick and two assists as United ran riot against the 10-man Saints.
Wolves came into their clash with Arsenal having failed to win in their previous eight league matches – a run of form so concerning that Nuno’s job at Molineux has been called into question for the first time during his tenure. However, with a dozen Portuguese in his line-up - Rui Patrício, Nélson Semedo, Rúben Neves, João Moutinho, Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto – the former Porto boss saw his side earn a crucial victory.
The match turned on the stroke of half time as Arsenal, who until then led through a Pepe goal, conceded a penalty when former Benfica defender David Luiz was adjudged to have fouled William Jose inside the box. Luiz, perhaps harshly, was deemed to have made no attempt to play the ball and issued a red hard after VAR consultation, before Neves dispatched the penalty into the top corner to ensure the teams went into the break level.
With a numerical advantage, Wolves seized their opportunity to end their winless run through Moutinho’s winner shortly after the re-start. The ex-Sporting and Porto man received the ball some 30 yards from goal and set himself to shoot before unleashing a fantastic long-range drive into the top corner in the 49th minute.
Joao Moutinho pulls one right out of the top drawer ?
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 2, 2021
A magnificent long-range strike from Wolves' midfield maestro ? pic.twitter.com/mFfexaV3jY
“A big moment for us” - Nuno
Moutinho’s goal proved the end of the scoring, while Arsenal’s task was made almost impossible when goalkeeper Berndt Leno was sent off for deliberate handball with just under twenty minutes to play. With their opponents down to nine men, Wolves saw out the closing stages having introduced Vitinha and Fábio Silva to secure a precious victory.
“I think the big moment for us was before the game, we really recognised what the team needs,” Nuno said after the match. “It’s the best of each one of us. Individual actions for the team. We are in this process, we build our way, we build our confidence, so we can continue through the hard competition that doesn’t stop, it gets harder and harder.
“It’s about all that happened before and what is in front of us, we are trying to get the team back, the confidence back, it was important before he game how we approached it and we must improve in a lot of aspects of our game.”
“Moutinho’s goal? It’s amazing. Beautiful goal. When you see a goal so beautiful, you have to enjoy it. João is a very talented player.
“It’s a football match, I’ve managed many matches, every match has its own history. Today was hard, it’s a big moment for us in terms of what it means for what we want to rebuild. We should kill the game, we had options to do so, and this is what we’re looking for, this maturity that we recognise the moment that we must kill the game. We’ll go inside and try to find a better way to do it.
“Confidence is about recognising individually how we can improve, that’s what gives you confidence. How you prepare yourself, how we train is how we compete, so we must raise the standards individually.”
Bruno’s United hit nine
Manchester United recorded the joint-biggest win in Premier League history as they became the third ever team to win 9-0 in their match against Southampton at Old Trafford. The Red Devils benefitted from the dismissal of Saints’ young midfielder Alexandre Jankowitz for a wild challenge on Scott McTominay after less than two minutes, after which the home side showed no mercy in running up the scoreline.
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes got two assists in setting up goals for Anthony Martial and Dan James, while Fernandes also scored from the penalty spot for his 12th league goal of the season. United moved back into second place in the table, level on points with Manchester City but having played two games more than their local rivals.
? Sit back, relax and enjoy all the best bits from a memorable night at Old Trafford.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 3, 2021
Sweet dreams, Reds ❤#MUFC #MUNSOU pic.twitter.com/M9bBoh9Rdo
By Sean Gillen
