Premier League starts well

2006-08-21



The Premier league could not have started better for the Portuguese who Gestifute represent. Chelsea, with José Mourinho, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Hilário (who was on the substitutes bench), beat Manchester City 3-0; Portsmouth, with Pedro Mendes, got the same result yesterday, against Blackburn Rovers; Manchester United, with Cristiano Ronaldo, hammered Fulham 5-1.

“We played very well, maybe even better than we expected, the team started very well, pressed forward and didn’t give Manchester City the chance to control the game”, confirmed José Mourinho at the end of a match in which Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho played 90 minutes at their usual level, that is, very well. In fact, it was as a result of a foul committed on Paulo Ferreira that John Terry opened the scoring in the tenth minute of the game.
At Old Trafford, Cristiano Ronaldo played 90 minutes, Manchester United won 5-1, and the Portuguese player didn’t just score a goal (the fourth), but also took part in the build up to two others.

Also yesterday, Pedro Mendes played in Portsmouth’s 3-0 victory against Blackburn Rovers, playing the whole of the match, and with the quality that makes him one of the essential parts of the team from the south of England.

Results of the first round:
Manchester United-Fulham, 5-1 (Saha, 7’; Ian Pearce, 14’, na p.b.; Wayne Rooney, 16’ e 64’; Cristiano Ronaldo 19’, Rio Ferdinand, 40’, na p.b.) Chelsea-Manchester City, 3-0 (John Terry, 10’; Lampard, 25’; Drogba, 78’)
Portsmouth-Blackburn, 3-0 (Todorov, 26’; Kanu, 62’ e 84’) Sheffield United-Liverpool, 1-1 (Hulse, 46’; Fowler, 70’)Arsenal-Aston Villa, 1-1 (Gilberto Silva, 84’; Mellberg, 53’) Everton-Watford, 2-1 (Johnson, 15’; Arteta, 82’, de g.p, Francis, 90’) Newcastle-Wigan, 2-1 (Scott Parker, 38’; Ameobi, 64’; Lee McCulloch, 59’)Reading-Middlesbrough, 3-2 (Kitson, 43’; Sidwell, 44; Lita, 55; Downing, 11’; Yakubu, 21’) West Ham-Charlton, 3-1 (Zamora, 52’ e 66’; Carlton Cole, 90’; Bent, 15’, de g.p.) Bolton-Tottenham, 2-0 (Davies, 9’; Ivan Campo, 13’)