Feb 7, 2022
Canadians in Europe: Eustáquio debuts in Porto win
It was a weekend to remember for Stephen Eustáquio and one to forget for Jonathan David. The former made his debut for his new club, while the latter and his team were at the wrong end of a drubbing.
TSN.ca Staff
It was a weekend to remember for Stephen Eustáquio and one to forget for Jonathan David. The former made his debut for his new club, while the latter and his team were at the wrong end of a drubbing.
Here's a look at how some Canadians in Europe fared over the weekend.
Stephen Eustáquio, Porto - After completing his loan move from Pacos prior to the international break, the 26-year-old Leamington, Ont. got his first run out in a Porto shirt on Sunday at Arouca. Eustáquio came on as a 78th-minute substitute for Fabio Vieira. In his 13 minutes of action, Eustáquio won three tackles had a shot on goal and was carded in stoppage time for a foul. Porto won the match 2-0 on two second-half goals in a four-minute span from Vitinha and Chancel Mbemba. With Benfica, who are in action later on Monday, falling in midweek to Gil Vicente, Porto is now six points clear at the top of the table. Next up for Eustáquio and Porto is a home date with Sporting on Friday before a Europa League fixture next Thursday at home to Lazio.
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Jonathan David, Lille - LOSC's Ligue 1 title win last year is moving further and further back in the rearview mirror as the season continues. The team that it pipped to last year's title, Paris Saint-Germain, made it very clear on Sunday that this season was going to be different. The star-studded PSG lineup pounded Lille to the tune of 5-1 on goals from Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, who score just his second Ligue 1 goal, Presnel Kimpembe and a brace from Danilo Pereira. David played the whole 90 minutes, but was left off of the scoresheet for a second straight match. The Ottawa native completed 16 of his 19 pass attempts and had one interception. With Wissam Ben Yedder notching his 14th league goal of the season in Monaco's 2-0 win over Lyon, David is now two back of the France forward for Golden Boot. Sven Botman scored Lille's loan goal of the afternoon. With the loss, the team now sits 11th in the table, four points back of Monaco for the final European spot. Lille returns to action on Saturday when they visit seventh-place Montpellier.
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Tajon Buchanan, Club Brugge - Club Brugge's faint title hopes were dealt another blow on Sunday when they fell 2-1 to Gent. Brampton, Ont.'s Tajon Buchanan started the match and played the majority of it until being lifted in the 62nd for Netherlands winger Noa Lang. Buchanan drew a foul, committed a foul of his own, produced a cross and had one shot on net. Gent's two goals came from Andrew Hjulsager and Tarik Tissoudali. Charles De Ketelaere picked up consolation marker for Club Brugge in the 76th for his 11th goal of the season. The game had an ugly end to it. Already sitting on a booking, Eder Alvarez Balanta picked up a second with an elbow Yonas Malede. As Balanta protested to the referee, Lang, who had come on for Buchanan, also had something to say to the official and was immediately sent off, leaving Club Brugge to finish the match on nine men. Club Brugge now sits third in the table, 12 points adrift of leaders Union SG. Club Brugge is home to fifth-place Charleroi next Sunday.
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Richie Laryea, Nottingham Forest - While the Toronto native didn't see the pitch on Saturday, he was named in the Nottingham Forest squad for the first time since his transfer from Toronto FC last month. From the bench, he got to see firsthand one of the great traditions of English football - the FA Cupset. Forest, currently eighth in the Championship table and two points behind West Brom for the final playoff place, put on a show for the fans at the City Ground, hammering last season's FA Cup winners Leicester City to the tune of 4-1. Outside of the injured Jamie Vardy and Jonny Evans, Brendan Rodgers went with a first-choice Foxes side that got outworked from the jump. Goals from Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall gave Forest a shock 3-0 lead by the 32nd. After Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho gave Leicester a lifeline in the 40th, Djed Spence put the tie to bed in the 61st. With the win, Forest advances to the fifth round of the Cup and will now face Huddersfield Town at home on Mar. 2. The club returns to league action on Wednesday with a key match at Ewood Park against promotion-chasing Blackburn Rovers.
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Cyle Larin, Besiktas - Like it was for some of his other CanMNT teammates, it was a frustrating weekend for Cyle Larin in the Turkish Super Lïg as Besiktas was held to a 0-0 draw by relegation-threatened Antalyaspor. The CanMNT record goal scorer came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute for Can Bozdogan. In his 28 minutes on the pitch, the Brampton, Ont. had a couple of fine chances to find a winner. In the 69th, Michy Batshuayi jumped on an Antalyaspor throw-in and sent Larin forward. With a man marking him, Larin came into the area and lashed his shot well over the bar, spurning a good goal-scoring opportunity. he picked up a native had two shots, with one on target, an interception and one foul committed. In the 80th, a cross from Ridvan Yilmaz was met by Batshuayi whose headed attempt was swatted away by a fine save from Ruud Boffin. His clearance was met with a Larin bicycle kick that had designs on just inside the far post, but a goalline clearance by an Antalyaspor defender kept the match scoreless. In stoppage, Larin thought he had a penalty claim as he was bumped during a diving header, but the referee offered nothing. Besiktas would finish the match on 10-men as Miralem Pjanic received a second yellow for dissent just as the referee blew time. The match leaves Besiktas in sixth, behind Istanbul Basaksehir for the final European place on goal difference. The team returns to league action next Monday at third-place Adana Demirspor. Besiktas captain and Brampton, Ont.'s Atiba Hutchinson could return to the squad for that match.