Due to the Taça de Portugal interlude, avid followers of the Liga NOS were made to wait an extra week for their weekly fix of Primeira Liga football, with the calling coming for Sporting first in a game versus an infamously rigid Tondela side prior to FC Porto’s home clash against Arouca on Saturday night.
With an eye on proceedings, the baton would then be passed onto Benfica, sitting pretty at the top of the league and with a Lisbon derby awaiting them at the Estádio do Restelo versus Belenenses.
A mere three points separated the traditional frontrunners for the title, leaving the prospect for any of the three to be top of the pile come the end of Week 8 running wild.
Here’s how the action unfolded.
Sporting 1-1 Tondela
The Lions’ inability to handle the modern rigours of the game has come up as a concern of late, slipping up in the league after each midweek clash in the UEFA Champions League thus far. At home, the objective would have been to respond to Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund with a widely expected victory, but if there’s someone who has a knack for causing an upset versus Jorge Jesus’s side, that person is Petit, who pinched four crucial points from Sporting just last season.
Jesus opted for one change to the side that started against Dortmund, electing André to support Dost up top, but it was the same old threat that got the crowd off their feet as early as the 4th minute when Gelson Martins wiggled down the by-line before hitting the near post with a strike inside the box.
Sporting looked to hurl more danger in Tondela’s direction, as Ezequiel Schelotto’s cross in the 20th minute found Dost in half a yard of space inside the box, but the Dutchman’s failed attempt at a glancing header would prove to be the last half-chance mustered by the home side in an uninspiring first period.
The Lisbon outfit continued to struggle to break down Tondela in the second half, meanwhile it was actually the away side who were first to cause any sort of danger after the break, in the 64th minute, as Fernando Ferreira’s low cross found forward Jhon Murillo who poked it wide with an outstretched leg.
Sporting didn’t acknowledge the warning, however, with the man on loan from Benfica getting on the end of another cross just ten minutes later and this time squeezing his finish under the helpless Rui Patrício to make it 1-0 to Tondela.
Jesus looked to Joel Campbell, on loan from Arsenal, to turn the tide, but it was another Premier League import who threatened to do so first when the towering figure of Sebastian Coates came crashing in to head a corner over the bar in the 86th minute.
Campbell offered Petit’s men a scare when appearing free in the box in the latter stages of the game, judged offside by the linesman, but the Costa Rican’s time did eventually come with an 11th hour equaliser.
A drop of the shoulder from Gelson earned the young Portuguese star time to pick out the 24-year-old inside the box, who then brought the ball down before smashing in the leveller on the half-volley from close range as late as the 95th minute, rescuing the Lions a point.
FC Porto 3-0 Arouca
With the opportunity to capitalise on Sporting’s banana skin result and apply further pressure on league leaders Benfica, Porto took to the field against a side that managed to walk away from the Estádio do Dragão with all three points last season.
A moment of individual brilliance just four minutes in from Jesús Corona would go on to set the tone for much of the game, however, as the Mexican cut inside to thrash an effort against the far post from inside the box.
Oliver Torres also came close to breaking the deadlock early, but ex-Porto man Rafael Bracali made himself big to deny the midfielder on loan from Atlético Madrid.
Lingering at the back post, Diogo Jota then saw his shot from a Héctor Herrera cross cleared off the line by Jubal in the 34th minute, but the home side did eventually get their goal little more than ten minutes later.
Following a failed headed clearance from Gegé at the back post, Jota was able to find André Silva with time on his side to finish and put Porto 1-0 up.
Jota then tried his luck once more before the interval, with his low drive from inside the box skipping along the rain-soaked turf and past the far post in the 44th minute.
The one-way traffic resumed in the second half, as Porto looked towards the same combination for the first goal to score their second. Catching Bracali of his line, Jota was on hand in the 78th minute to loop a ball over to André Silva, who only needed to nod the ex-Paços de Ferreira man’s work into an empty net to grab his brace.
The Dragons weren’t done there, as Yacine Brahimi left his mark on the game after dancing his way inside the box before blasting a shot deep into the near-post for Porto’s third in stoppage time, taking Nuno Espírito Santo’s team to 2nd with a two-point advantage over Sporting.
Belenenses 0-2 Benfica
A win for Benfica would create a five-point gap over rivals Sporting in 3rd, meanwhile a victory against Belenenses became a concrete necessity in response to Porto snapping at the heels of Rui Vitória’s side, so it was perhaps a good time to visit what has been a reliable hunting ground for the Eagles over the years.
Not since 2007 have Benfica dropped points at the Estádio do Restelo, crushing Belenenses 5-0 in this fixture last season, whereas the home side have also failed to score a goal at home against their opponents for almost nine years.
Kostas Mitroglou, who netted a hat-trick against the team from Belém last season, began peddling the result towards the more familiar look of late, as he rose highest inside the box to head in the first goal of the game in the 10th minute.
Former Benfica man, Hassan Yebda, could, and probably should have equalised for Belenenses in the 25th minute when beating the offside trap to meet Gerso’s precise ball over the top, but the Algerian failed to overcome Ederson in goal.
The second goal of the game then escaped Mitroglou on the half hour mark, as the striker set himself up for the volley on the edge of the area before pinging an effort against the inside of the post.
The search for a brace continued in the second period with Álex Grimaldo supporting the counter-attack and squaring it for the Greek striker, only for Joel Pereira, on loan from Manchester United, to deny his double.
Benfica continued knocking on the door with a view to killing off the game and Grimaldo popped up once more from left back to provide the breathing space, taking on a pass from Gonçalo Guedes before powering a shot past Pereira between the sticks in the 65th minute.
Franco Cervi came close to putting the game beyond any doubt just a few moments later when rattling the bar, but the 2-0 score line would be all Benfica required to return to the top of the table with a three-point advantage over Porto.
By Patrick Ribeiro
Results
P. Ferreira 1-1 Nacional
Maritimo 1-1 Boavista
Feirense 1-1 Vit. Setúbal
Sporting 1-1 Tondela
FC Porto 3-0 Arouca
Moreirense 1-1 Rio Ave
Estoril 0-2 Vit. Guimarães
Belenenses 0-2 Benfica
[Monday]
Braga vs. Chaves
