Benfica capitalises on Sporting and FC Porto slip-ups

It was with a clash between first placed Sporting and Tondela, rooted to the bottom of the Liga NOS table, that we officially welcomed the second half of the season at the Alvalade. And while Jorge Jesus’ men looked to add to last week’s heroics versus Sporting de Braga, city rivals Benfica made the short journey west to the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota in a bid to defeat mid-table Estoril and keep up with the green half of Lisbon.

Elsewhere, caretaker manager Rui Barros was in charge of FC Porto for only his third game, one which came under unusual circumstances as he went head-to-head with former Porto teammate and current Vitória de Guimarães boss Sérgio Conceição, a hot favourite to succeed the sacked Julen Lopetegui. Patrick Ribeiro rounds up the weekend action in which the Big Three had differing results after all three had fallen behind in their respective matches.

 

Sporting 2-2 Tondela

Having scored nine goals in their last two league games, it was more than expected to see Sporting treat their fans to yet another goal show, hosting 18th placed Tondela. Jesus maintained his trident of Bruno César, Bryan Ruiz and João Mário playing behind the in-form Islam Slimani, with the only change to the line-up coming at the back; Brazilian defender Ewerton getting the nod ahead of Paulo Oliveira, who’s a yellow card away from suspension.

Hopes of another Sporting rampage seemed to diminish as the game went on, however, with both teams failing to keep possession of the ball in the early exchanges. Sporting’s first chance fell to William Carvalho, who looped his header over the bar in the 25th minute, but it was at the other end that the game really took off.

A through ball in the 28th minute from Randall Oto’o Zué set Nathan Júnior free to run at Rui Patrício’s goal, with the Portugal number one appearing to bring the forward down inside the area. Referee Luís Ferreira wasted no time in pointing to the spot, sending off Patrício and club president Bruno de Carvalho soon after for protesting. Nathan then made no mistake up against Sporting’s second choice goalkeeper Marcelo Boeck, converting his penalty and ensuring a 1-0 lead for Tondela as the game drifted into half time.

Jesus gambled and decided to unleash Gelson Martins in the second half, replacing the underperforming William Carvalho. The tactical shake-up didn’t take long to begin making a difference, as Slimani fired 10-man Sporting back in the game in the 52nd minute with a shot deflected in by Tondela’s Tikito.

Tikito, once a teammate of Karim Benzema and Samir Nasri in France’s 2004 Under-17 squad, was again at the heart of all the action when his headed clearance off the line denied Ruiz a goal, an intervention that was at first mistaken for a handball by the referee. But Sporting’s second goal, their historic 5,000th, did eventually arrive, as a half-volley from Gelson inside the box proved to be too much for Tondela’s goalkeeper Matt Jones.

The drama in the capital didn’t end there, with a long ball from just inside Tondela’s half floating over the head of Jefferson and to the feet of late substitute Salva Chamorro who, at a slight angle, smashed his shot low through Boeck’s legs and salvaged a point in the 85th minute. The visitors remain bottom, but a draw at Alvalade sees former Benfica man and current Tondela boss Petit pinch two points off Jesus’ Sporting for the second time this season, having done so first in command of Boavista back in September.

 

Estoril 1-2 Benfica

In the knowledge of Sporting’s slip-up at home to Tondela, a win away to Estoril would see Benfica cut the gap between them and their bitter rival to just two points, as well as going three clear of Porto and into second place, albeit momentarily. For the challenge, manager Rui Vitória opted for the tried and tested 4x4x2 formation and the same line-up that defeated Nacional 4-1 in Madeira.

‘As Águias’ began to pepper Paweł Kieszek’s goal with efforts early on, with Jonas hitting the post in the 7th minute, but it was the hosts who struck first after 10 minutes through Leo Bonatini, rumoured to be closely watched by Sporting. The ex-Cruzeiro and Juventus striker met Anderson Luís’ cross at the near post, lifting his side-footed volley past Júlio César and into the far corner for his 10th goal of the season.

Benfica were then gifted an opportunity to the equalise when a misguided clearance from Diego Carlos left Raúl Jiménez one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but a tame effort from the Mexican was dealt with successfully by Kieszek.

Vitória came out into the second half with a like-for-like change, replacing Jiménez with loanee Kostas Mitroglou, and the Greek striker offered an almost immediate warning to Estoril’s defence when his shot inside the box was driven wide from a Pizzi cross.

The Greek striker didn’t forgive his opponents the second time round when, with the same combination that was present in his first chance, Mitroglou pinched the ball from Jonas’ path but repaid his strike partner and his team with a deflected finish on the turn to make it 1-1 after 52 minutes of football.

Benfica might have felt they should have turned the game on its head in the 65th minute when Kieszek attempted desperately to avoid the ball crossing the goal line, but Vitória’s men were celebrating their second goal just two minutes later. In a play that saw Benfica switch the play from right to left relatively quickly, Jonas slipped in Pizzi who made up for an initial poor first touch with a low drive past Estoril’s goalkeeper.

In the 74th minute, Jonas came close to adding to his goal tally of 18 in the league, but another save from Kieszek ensured that Benfica would win by no more than the minimal advantage, as the fixture ended 2-1 to the current holders of the Primeira Liga title.

 

Vitória de Guimarães 1-0 FC Porto

Rui Barros made two changes to the side that had beaten Boavista 5-0 in the Invicta Derby, preferring Jesús Corona and ex-Vitória de Guimarães man André André to Evandro and Silvestre Varela. ‘Os Dragões’ were to be left stunned, however, as early as the 4th minute in what many saw as an audition for the Porto job from Guimarães’ manager Sérgio Conceição.

The former Portugal international saw his side rely on more than a hint of fortune to take the lead, as a volley deflected high in the direction of Porto’s goal was inexplicably dropped by Iker Casillas and followed up by Bouba Saré for the game’s first goal; his second in as many games for the ‘Vimaranenses’.

Porto came close to the equaliser in the 15th minute when Corona’s saved shot found its way to André André on the edge of the box, but the 26-year-old’s guided effort could only skim the post as it went wide of Miguel Silva’s goal.

The 20-year-old goalkeeper had to be alert once more in the 43rd minute, with his fingertip save doing enough to keep out a glancing header from Danilo Pereira and maintain the hosts’ 1-0 lead going into half time.

It was a matter of total lockdown for Guimarães in the second half as Porto’s struggles continued. With 68 minutes on the clock, Yacine Brahimi failed to hook his shot on target from a Maxi Pereira cross in what was one of the few chances Barros’ men managed to create.

To add to Porto’s woes, Vincent Aboubakar was later shown a second yellow card for a handball in stoppage time, as Guimarães’ defensive solidity saw them become the only home team to win in week 18 with a 1-0 victory.

A defeat for Porto sees them fail to capitalise on Sporting’s slip-up on Friday night, meaning they now trail 2nd placed Benfica by three points and see the gap between them and the league leader increase to five points. After the game, Sérgio Conceição refused to make a comment on his managerial future.

 

Week 18 Results

Sporting 2-2 Tondela

Académica 1-1 Paços de Ferreira

Marítimo 0-1 União da Madeira

Estoril 1-2 Benfica

Arouca 1-2 Moreirense

Rio Ave 1-2 Belenenses

Nacional 2-3 Sporting de Braga

Vitória de Guimarães 1-0 FC Porto

 

Monday’s Fixture

Boavista v Vitória de Setúbal

By Patrick Ribeiro