It was a strong week for Portuguese goalscoring in the Champions League, not least for Gonçalo Ramos who continued his recent comeback with a goal for Paris Saint-Germain against Salzburg.
Nuno Mendes also scored in the French champions’ 3-0 victory in Austria, while there was another goal for in-form Rafael Leão as Paulo Fonseca’s AC Milan secured a closely-fought win over Red Star Belgrade at San Siro.
Gonçalo Ramos scored his first goal of the season against Salzburg in Austria on Tuesday evening, his first time hitting the net since April. The former Benfica man missed the first three months of the season with an ankle injury, before returning to action for Paris Saint-Germain towards the end of last month.
Having started the 0-0 draw at Auxerre in Ligue 1 at the weekend, Ramos was issued another start as he rebuilds his fitness. The striker suffered the embarrassment of a shocking early miss from close-range, but soon made up for it by turning in Achraf Hakimi’s cross to give PSG a 1-0 lead.
Nuno Mendes also added his name to the scoresheet in the second half, starting and finishing a move with a clinical finish into the top corner after a trademark burst into the box. Desire Doué rounded off the scoring for PSG, for whom João Neves and Vitinha played the full 90 minutes, while after the match boss Luis Enrique spoke about left-back Mendes.
“Nuno offers more attacking solutions to the team due to his physical and technical qualities,” said the Spaniard. “He can play as one of the three at the back or further forward. He offers a lot of attacking value to the team. But we adapt depending on the players we have. Nuno is playing further forward at the moment, but that could change. His injury? He took a knock, nothing serious.”
Leão dazzles as Fonseca frustrated by unconvincing Milan win
Rafael Leão produced some high-quality entertainment, especially in the first half, as AC Milan narrowly overcame Red Star Belgrade 2-1 at San Siro. Leão’s superbly-taken opener just before half time was cancelled out by Nemanja Radonjić (67’) but substitute Tammy Abraham snatched all three points from close-range with just a few minutes left.
Although the match represented another positive night for Leão, who has impressed over the last month, the nature of the performance did little earn manager Paulo Fonseca’s praise. Milan have now won four Champions League matches in a row, but Fonseca was not happy with his side when questioned by media.
“I feel more tired than as if I had played,” Fonseca told Sky Sport Italia. “I am someone who is not just satisfied with the result. If you ask me am I satisfied with what we did tonight, I cannot accept that. Obviously, the result is the most important thing, we won and are in a good position, but this is just how I am. It’s not something I can change.
“I also feel tired of fighting against these things. I have to talk to the team first. I don’t want to say it here first. I want to analyse what happened, but these things are clear for me. Obviously, I am not satisfied with this performance. It’s not about tactics or technique. We go into this decisive match for us and to have this sensation that we’re not doing our best to win it, that’s the worst sensation a coach can get.
“The problem is that our team is like a rollercoaster. One day we are fine, the next I don’t know. It’s like flipping a coin and waiting to see what you get. It’s honestly shocking.
“This is the problem. I know that I work every day and give my all, I don’t know if everyone in our squad can say this. We have the obligation to come here today and give our all to win the game and we did not do that. They need to understand this cannot happen.”
Rafa talks tonight's hard-fought win 💭#ACMFKCZ #UCL #SempreMilan pic.twitter.com/I97ANUfKGO
— AC Milan (@acmilan) December 12, 2024
By @SeanGillen9