Portuguese Media React to Paulo Bernardo’s ‘Clockwork’ U21s Performance

The Portuguese media have been full of praise for Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo after he netted another goal for the country’s under-21s last night.

Despite already being secure in their qualification for next summer’s under-21 European Championships, Rui Jorge’s side showed their mentality to win in Slovakia last night after going a goal down.

Sebastian Nebyla opened the scoring for the hosts before strikes from Carlos Forbs and Henrique Araujp turned the Game on its head. Bernardo then added some gloss to the scoreline late on, finishing from close range to net his 10th goal in 28 caps for Portugal under-21s.

He captained the side last night, and Portuguese outlet A Bola hailed him as a ‘clockwork’ in the middle of the park while also praising his energy: “Paulo Bernardo had a long-lasting battery and still had time to (also) ‘wet the soup’,” they penned.

The 22-year-old will now look forward to captaining his country at next summer’s tournament.

Before that, though, Bernardo’s attention now turns back to the club scene and a gruelling fixture run with Celtic.

The Bhoys face weekly matches until March, with no time for a winter break in Scottish Football this season.

Brendan Rodgers has described his side’s schedule as an ‘ultramarathon’. Things kick off on Saturday with a trip to face Hearts at Tynecastle before Club Brugge are welcomed to Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League in just over a week.