I’ve been so busy that I’m way behind on my written blogs , approximately 2-3 weeks behind.
Anyway my last football match as I write in late November was away to Sporting CP. And to give you a clue to the date , I’m going to the Etihad tomorrow to watch the Feyenoord CL game. I’ve also been to Ireland during the International break to review Guinness , but I’ll Blog those after both the YouTube videos have been published.
I had to fly from Bristol , a small airport with a lot of low cost operators and few scheduled operators. The flight left 4 hours late unfortunately, and even worse , no compensation as they cited air traffic control issues in Europe and weather. I did at least have time to review the pint of Guinness. Average but not bad for a British airport.
I did have quite a good restaurant reservation in Lisbon but that had to go out of the window. At least a small local restaurant accepted me and I shared salt cod (bacalhau) and octopus. Reasonable but nothing special , but to be served at 2300h was a bonus.
Match Day
Of course the centrepiece of the trip was supposed to be watching City play away at Sporting CP. We did run out comfortable 5-0 winners last time round , but it was pretty obvious to all that this wouldn’t be the scoreline this time round. Not only have Sporting improved but City are hobbling along with key players injured and those playing , playing horribly out of form.
As always I filmed some pre match food and drink , firstly trying the famous Portuguese pork sandwich, the Bifana, with a super bock , quite a good mass produced lager. The sandwich was juicy and moist leaving me to believe I chose one of the best places in Lisbon, just a hole in the wall place called As Bifanas de Afonso.
Then onwards to try a Prego. A beef sandwich
And finally the famous Portuguese custard tart, Pastel de Nata, at a fine establishment called Mantegaria, taken with an espresso and a glass of port.
A couple of quick pints at the British Bar, which was where the majority of City fans were drinking pre game. I like the boisterous atmosphere but prefer to spend most of my pre game time sampling local establishments. I did, upon request, try the Super Bock stout, but it just tasted like a fizzy black beer.
The Match itself was a bit of a disaster. The Home fans thanking Ruben Amorim before he moves to what is surely an impossible job at Old Trafford. City started well enough taking an early lead, and spurning a couple of really good chances. Sporting looked fast and sharp on the break all game long , and after a warning where they should have scored, Sporting did eventually equalise.
The second half started as the first half ended, with City’s midfield all at sea and defenders chasing shadows. 1-1 became 3-1 within a blink of an eyelid , City’s defence really lacking pace. Haaland could have set up an interesting last half hour, but continued his poor form hitting the bar from the penalty spot. A second penalty to Sporting and that was 4-1 . It all reminded me of Pep’s first season with Kolarov , Clichy and others unable to keep up with pacy counter attacking forwards and every chance for the opponents being a huge chance. As I write, Kovacic who is deputising for Rodri who is out for the season is also injured, so all is definitely not well.
However poor a display and/or a good display by Sporting, it wasn’t going to stop me enjoying a good post match meal. Re’tasco restaurant was the best I ate at on this trip, and helped the bad result wash away. Some sporting fans in there were a bit bemused to see some City supporters on champagne.
Before moving on to Madrid I was lucky enough to be shown a bit more of the city by locals and then try a restaurant called Pica Pau , that uses only local products 100% Portuguese . Including a sparkling wine that was as good as I’ve had from Portugal. The salt cod again was the best dish, the cozido or cocido was a bit average , but the red wine was decent.
And to finish it all off the largest bottle of port that I’ve ever seen, a 10 year old tawny. Apparently the restaurant get through it in less than a week!
It was a great way to end the Portuguese leg of my journey. Next onto Madrid and I’ll try to get some of the more recent trips to Ireland and football out when I get some time off what is a mad schedule at the moment.
