Benfica and Porto beaten, Sporting close gap
The Primeira Liga title race took a couple of unexpected twists this weekend. On Sunday evening Porto lost 1-0 away to Marítimo, apparently all but throwing away their chances of catching Benfica at the top of the table.
But one day later the leaders and reigning champions missed the chance to build a formidable 9-point buffer at the top of the table as Jorge Jesus's men also went down by the same 1-0 scoreline at Paços de Ferreira.
The big winners were Sporting, whose single-goal win at home to Académica gives the Lions hope of re-joining the title race. Are we in for a three-horse race?
Marítimo 1-0 FC Porto
Porto came into the match on the back of four straight wins in the league, and a heroic performance from a second-string team who had drawn 1-1 at Braga in the Taça da Liga despite playing for almost an hour of the match with nine men.
And truth be told, the Dragons completely dominated the match, especially in the second half, fabricating enough chances to have won it several times over. But in football what counts is not the number of chances created but hitting the back of the net, and Bruno Gallo's expertly executed volley gave the islanders a scantily deserved half-time lead.
Although enjoying plenty of possession, Porto had not played well in the first half, but after the break the Dragons showed more urgency and incisiveness in attack to create a handful of clear-cut openings. However, when the excellent Marítimo goalkeeper Salin was not denying the visitors, it was the woodwork or goal-line clearances that kept the lead intact, as the Madeira club beat the Dragons for the second successive season.
Sporting 1-0 Académica
Sporting's impressive 8-match winning run in all competitions had come to an end at Belenenses in midweek in the Taça da Liga, and although the club is using a team made up of B-team and youth players in that competition, the setback seemed to have a knock-on effect as the Lions struggled to find their fluency against Paulo Sérgio's struggling Académica.
The home team were constantly on top, as expected, but chances were at a premium against the well-organised, albeit inoffensive Coimbra outfit. With time running out, Marco Silva again turned to the bench and Tanaka, and the Japanese striker continued his recent talismanic cameos with a decisive contribution to the winning goal.
In the 76th minute William Carvalho - increasingly looking like his old self - swung in an inviting cross that Tanaka met with a powerful header. Académica goalkeeper Lee produced an excellent reflex save, but João Mário reacted sharply to head the rebound into the corner of the net and earn Sporting all three points.
Paços de Ferreira 1-0 Benfica
Benfica may have lost only once in the whole of the first half of the season, but in the very first game of the Segunda Volta, the Eagles succumbed to defeat, thus missing the chance to go nine points clear at the top of the table.
The Eagles started brightly and missed two golden opportunities to take an early lead. First the normally lethal Jonas spurned a chance from close range, then Lima crashed a penalty against the bar, with justice done in the latter case given that the penalty award was harsh in the extreme, the referee considering Ricardo to have handled the ball after Jonas had blasted a cross against his arm from point-blank range.
After surviving the first twenty minutes Paços started to get a foothold in the match and chances appeared at both ends of the pitch. Benfica's opportunities were more plentiful, with Salvio's deflected cross and Lima's shot coming back off the woodwork, while for Paços Cicero forced a good save out of Júlio César.
Just when it appeared a goalless draw was on the cards Eliseu's clumsy challenge on Hurtado led to an obvious penalty, which Sérgio Oliveira gleefully smashed into the net. The home team survived seven minutes of stoppage time to pick up three points and give coach Paulo Fonseca his first win over Benfica.
Round-up
In a weekend fertile in surprises, both Minho clubs had disappointing results. Vitória Guimarães were held 2-2 at home by bottom club Gil Vicente. Indeed, the hosts had to come from two goals down and grabbed the equaliser in the 93rd minute, André André scoring yet another penalty. Braga made the short trip to Boavista and lost 1-0, Uchebo scoring the only goal in the 82nd minute.
Vitória Setúbal's decision to sack Domingos Paciência and appoint Bruno Ribeiro paid immediate dividends, the Sadinos thrashing Rio Ave 4-1 at the Bonfim. Estoril moved up to 8th with a 1-0 win over Arouca, and two goals in the last ten minutes saw Nacional come from behind to beat Moreirense 3-2 away, while Belenenses and Penafiel played out a goalless draw.
