Portuguese Abroad goals round-up: Leão brace sinks Napoli, Podence earns Wolves point; Ricardo Pereira back on the scoresheet | OneFootball

Rafael Leão was the star of the show in the Portuguese Abroad section at the weekend, marking a sensational return to form with two goals as AC Milan stunned runaway Serie A leaders Napoli with a 4-0 victory at the Maradona Stadium.

In England, there was a first goal of the season for injury-recovered Ricardo Pereira, as well as a late equaliser for Wolves’ Daniel Podence. Former Benfica forward Jota also found the net in Scotland, as Luso players struck in as many as 13 different countries this week.

While the Italian Serie A title destination is considered a formality, Sunday’s meeting between champions-elect Napoli and outgoing holders AC Milan was an intriguing warm-up for their Champions League quarter final. Napoli are 16 points clear at the top of the Italian league, as they head towards their first Scudetto in 36 years.

Just ten days before the sides meet in the first leg of the Champions League last eight at San Siro, Milan delivered a statement win at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Rafael Leão was the star of the show as the Rossoneri ran out 4-0 winners with two goals in each half, boosting their own case for a top-4 finish.

The first goal arrived in the 17th minute and was a fantastic opener from the visitors. Brahim Diaz used some deft footwork to find space before slotting a pass through to Leão, who scored with a typically composed lifted finish over Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret. Spanish midfielder Diaz made it 2-0 with a similarly well-taken finish on 25 minutes to give Milan a dream half-time advantage.

The best was yet to come from Leão. The former Sporting forward received possession in the left channel and teased Amir Rrahmani with the hint of cutting inside, before shifting the ball onto his left foot and smashing a brilliant finish last Meret for his second. Belgian Alexis Saelemaekers put the seal on the night with a solo goal to afford Milan the luxury of ending the contest with a quarter of the match left.

Leão appeared to send a message with a ‘talking’ gesture during his celebration, which he later confirmed with a response to critics following a recent goal drought. “I just want to respond on the field,” he said. “I like to listen to my coach and those who work here, the people who talk outside the club don’t interest me. It just fires me up more. I had a few complicated months, now I have found myself again thanks to my coach and my team.

“We knew this was an important game against a great opponent who is having a wonderful season. We heard a few things people said outside of Milan that gave us an extra energy boost. I want to thank our fans and team, as we worked incredibly as a unit, and this is Milan.”

“It’s an incredible feeling [to score again] but even if I hadn’t scored today, we still played very well and I’m happy.”

Podence scores late equaliser, faces FA investigation over incident

Daniel Podence had an eventful end to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The Portuguese winger snatched a late point for Wolves on his 100th appearance for the club, after which he escaped a red card for an apparent spitting incident which will be further examined by the Football Association.

Wolves, who are now two points clear of the relegation zone ahead of what looks to be a battle to avoid the drop involving multiple clubs, looked set for defeat against Forest heading into the last ten minutes. Podence had been introduced at half time in place of countryman João Moutinho, and in the 83rd minute the former Sporting man showed great composure to cut inside onto his right foot to fire home from close range.

The drama was not over, as towards the end of the match Podence was investigated by VAR for appearing to spit in the direction of Forest’s goalscorer Brennan Johnson. The FA have confirmed they will be looking into the incident in a follow-up investigation, while Johnson told Sky Sports he felt spit on his face and admitted he was “a little bit” surprised no red card was issued. [see incident here]

Podence celebrated his 100th game for the club by scoring his 6th league goal of the campaign – a career high in top flight football. Speaking to media after the game, Podence admitted some tension has built up between the two sets of players, which led to the confrontation surrounding his brush with VAR.

“I really don’t know why, I played against them last year in the Carabao Cup and this year the refs have been brutal in terms of decision, they’re very complicated against us, and made us feel frustrated too,” he said.

“We are fighting against good players and of course Morgan [Gibbs-White] and he likes to provoke our fans and that’s what we do on the pitch. It’s very difficult to explain this rivalry.

“It’s very satisfying [to reach 100 games for Wolves] in the best league in the world, with a huge club and very good team. We have been doing great work since I arrived, so I’m very happy with that and the goal today. We had a difficult match in front of us and we got one point in the fight against relegation.”

Pereira scores as Leicester defeat costs Rodgers

Ricardo Pereira scored for the first time in almost a year for Leicester City, but the goal was overshadowed by a late defeat for the Foxes to Crystal Palace and the subsequent sacking of manager Brendan Rodgers. Pereira last scored for Leicester in their memorable Europa League victory at PSV last April, but his opener at Selhurst Park was ultimately inconsequential.

After a goalless first half, ex-Porto right-back Pereira received the ball from Timoty Castagne just inside the Palace area and he let fly with a powerful shot which flew into the roof of the net on 56 minutes. Pereira’s goal was quickly cancelled out when Eberechi Eze’s free-kick struck the bar and went in off goalkeeper Daniel Iversen, before Jean-Phillipe Mateta popped up with a 94th-minute winner for the Eagles.

It’s a tough one to take," Pereira told LCFC TV. "With one minute to the end, we [concede] a goal. It was hard game, a difficult game. We suffered in the game. When we had time with the ball, we did good things but then, unfortunately, with a free-kick from nowhere, we’re unlucky. Then it's the details that are making the difference. We need to do better.

"I think we started [the second half] well and the goal was important, but at the end, it doesn't matter. It was a good vision from Tim [Castange] to see me there, but unfortunately, it's just a goal with no meaning."

The rest: Jota, Lucas João on target

Celtic remain on-course to defend their Scottish Premiership title, as the Hoops continue what has been a relentless performance in the league. Sunday’s 2-0 win at Ross County saw another goal for Jota, via the penalty spot, as the champions made it 28 wins from their 30 games in the top flight so far. Celtic are nine points clear of arch rivals Rangers, whom they play next week at Celtic Park.

Lucas João scored his first goal for the Angolan National Team over the international break against Ghana, and the former Nacional forward celebrated with a goalscoring return with Reading in the English Championship. João’s headed equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Bristol City was his 6th league goal of the season and his first since December, making it the perfect way to follow breaking his international duct.

There were two notable goalscorers in the Danish Superliga on Sunday. Former Benfica midfielder Diogo Gonçalves scored the winner for champions Copenhagen in a 2-1 victory over Nordsjælland, while Viborg cruised to an impressive 3-0 win at Brøndby, with ex-Estrela da Amadora forward Paulinho getting the third. In nearby Sweden, Rui Modesto scored for new club AIK on the opening weekend of the Allsvenskan season, but could not prevent a 2-1 defeat to Halmstad.

In Greece, Aris produced a sensational comeback from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at champions Olympiacos, with young forward Rafael Camacho getting the equaliser. There was a 7-goal thriller in the Turkish Super Lig on Saturday as Kayserispor won 4-3 away against Trabzonspor, and former Sporting forward Carlos Mané was responsible for the winning goal.

In the Italian Serie B, the same scoreline saw Ascoli victorious at home against Brescia, during which defender Pedro Mendes made it 1-1 shortly before half time ahead of a 4-3 win. Al Nasr made it three wins in a row in the United Arab Emirates, where midfielder Tozé scored in a 3-0 triumph over Kalba.

Lisbon-born forward Carlos Fortes scored in Indonesia for PSIS Semarang in a 5-2 win over PSS Sleman, while in the Polish Ekstraklasa Fernando Rocha struck for Radomiak Radom in a 1-1 draw at Wisla Plock. Finally, in the Georgian Erovnuli Liga, Pedro Monteiro’s late winner gave Torpedo Kutaisi a 2-1 victory over Telavi; Luis Silva scored for Cypriot side Enosis in their 2-1 defeat to Doxa; former Bragança forward Gabi scored in the Andorran league as UE Santa Coloma were held 1-1 by Saint Julia.