Portuguese Paulinho delighted with “incredible” debut brace in Mexico [video]
Former Sporting forward Paulinho made a sensational impact on his full debut for Mexican side Toluca at the weekend, scoring twice in a 3-2 victory over Juarez.
Paulinho has been training with his new club for two weeks, having joined from the Lions in an €8m move in June. After a 30-minute cameo at Chivas on the opening day of the season last week, the Portuguese was installed into Renato Paiva’s line-up for Sunday’s home match against Juarez.
The 31-year-old striker opened the scoring after ten minutes and ended up grabbing the winner twenty minutes from time with the score level at 2-2. Speaking after the match, Paulinho could barely hide his happiness in his new surroundings, as Toluca ended a four-match winless run in Liga MX stretching back to the end of last season.
????????| ¡El estreno de Paulinho defendiendo nuestra camiseta! ⚽️⚽️⚽️#TodosJuntos https://t.co/sVNdWaYSH4 pic.twitter.com/9RXol1Ysc8
— Toluca FC (@TolucaFC) July 14, 2024
Paulinho with two goals on his first Toluca start in Mexico, including the winner against Juarez pic.twitter.com/r7MU0Dz3zr
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) July 15, 2024
“Incredible,” he said. “Incredible fans, we played with an extra man. My first goal? I saw that Brian crossed the ball and we trained that Gallardo would be at the far post, so I thought I will be there if it comes to me.”
The nature of Paulinho’s poacher goals will be of great pleasure to Portuguese coach Renato Paiva. Much has been made of Paulinho’s arrival at a team which was regarded as creating plenty of chances, but lacking a ‘killer’ in the penalty box. A full debut with two close-range finishes appears to have provided the Red Devils with the player they were missing.
“Luckily he has done his job, but I do not forget that for the ball to reach Paulinho's feet it passes through many people and it starts with Volpi, so I value the collective effort,” Paiva said in his post-match interview.
“He (Paulinho) is an extraordinary professional, we know him very well and what he has told me is what touched me the most, that he is mega happy with our institution.
“He’s very happy with the club, with the values of the club, with what the club aspires to, which allows him to continue fighting to win titles and for the group we have here. I’m confident he will improve, not only in goals but also assists.”
By @SeanGillen9