Portuguese involvement in the Europa League on Thursday evening yielded both positive and negative stories for Luso players flying the flag in continental football.
Carlos Forbs had a night to remember with Ajax, scoring his first goal in senior football during their thrilling 3-3 draw with Marseille. However, the night brought further injury frustration for Renato Sanches, who was forced off midway through the first half of Roma’s win at Moldovans Sheriff.
Carlos Forbs joined Dutch giants Ajax in the summer from Manchester City in a deal worth €14m plus add-ons, and the 19-year-old has been regularly involved for his new team so far this season. However, Forbs was still awaiting his first goal in Ajax colours when they hosted Marseille in the opening match of Group B.
With just eight minutes on the clock, Forbs made the breakthrough after the Marseille defence misjudged the flight of a long goal kick and allowed the ball to bounce into his path, with the Portuguese showing excellent composure to slot past Pau Lopez. Ajax led 2-0 and 3-2 on the night, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s brace was pivotal in the French side coming away with a point.
Renato injury “difficult to understand” – Mourinho
If Forbs’ first goal represented the start of a new chapter in his career, there was a glumly familiar sensation about the way Renato Sanches’ evening unfolded in Group G. Italians Roma travelled to Moldova to play Sheriff, with Renato keeping his place in the line-up following his half-time withdrawal on Sunday in Serie A.
Roma started poorly at Sheriff and Renato struggled to influence the game, ahead of signalling to the bench that he would need to be replaced. José Mourinho acted accordingly and Sanches left the pitch with what is hoped to be a minor problem, but the midfielder’s long track record is a concern which clearly bothered Mourinho during his post-match interview.
“Unfortunately, this is what the situation is for Sanches, he will always be at risk,” said Mourinho, after watching his team manage a 2-1 victory. “It’s difficult to understand. They didn’t figure it out at Munich, nor at PSG, we are struggling to understand too.
“He is a great player, seemed absolutely fine, then felt something.”
There were further Portuguese goals elsewhere in Europe on the night, including Miguel Crespo who struck in Fenerbahce’s 3-1 win over Nordsjælland in the Europa Conference League, while Leandro Andrade’s goal gave Azerbaijani side Qarabag a 1-0 victory against Molde in the Europa League.
By Sean Gillen
