Fresh from last week’s derby joy at home to rivals Sporting, Benfica were tasked with succeeding in another meeting between Lisbon clubs, as Estoril hosted the Liga NOS title holders on Saturday night. By a minute margin, all Rui Vitória’s men needed was a 1-0 victory, supplemented by Raúl Jiménez’s spot-kick, to safeguard top spot throughout Christmas.
Sporting welcomed Sporting de Braga to the Estádio José Alvalade in a bid to bounce back from their ‘Clássico’ woe, but the Lions’ again sunk to defeat, as Wilson Eduardo captured all three points for the visitors’ in a 1-0 win which pushed the Arsenalistas up to 3rd place in the Liga NOS table.
A day later, FC Porto were made to fight for their triumph after going a goal down to a ‘manager-less’ Chaves, turning the game on its head in the second period to run out 2-1 winners in front of their home support. Here’s how the action unfolded at the top.
Estoril 0-1 Benfica
The Eagles may have managed to buy themselves some breathing space over Sporting following last week’s controversial 2-1 win against their Lisbon counterparts, but growing pressure from FC Porto ensured their trip to the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota wouldn’t be stress-free.
Benfica started the strongest in a play ignited by Rafa Silva and cut back into danger by Jiménez from the left flank, but Estoril’s Diogo Amado did just enough to put off Gonçalo Guedes with a sliding tackle.
With Jiménez again in the picture, the Mexican striker produced an unconventional ‘trivela’ from range in the 13th minute that required the ex-Benfica shot-stopper, Moreira, to tip the dangerous effort over the bar. From the resulting corner, it was Luisão who almost found the net but the Benfica captain couldn’t direct his diving header on target from the back post.
Estoril registered their first chance on the half-hour mark when Bruno Gomes spun off the array of bodies awaiting Eduardo’s free-kick, heading his compatriot’s delivery onto the outside of Ederson’s near post.
Benfica returned to try and break the deadlock once more early in the second period and were given a great opportunity to do so in the 61st minute via the spot, as a trailing arm from Ailton in his attempt to block Franco Cervi’s entrance into the box was spotted making contact with the ball by the referee.
Jiménez stepped up and made no mistake from 12 yards by sending Moreira the wrong way, prolonging a run that’s seen him score in each of his last four appearances for the league leaders.
Estoril forward Alisson Farias warmed up Ederson’s hands with a strike coming in from the right, whereas the injury-hit Jonas almost found the back of the net on two occasions with consecutive headed efforts late on, having only been on the pitch for five minutes.
With the victory in clear sight, Estorill were on hand to offer Benfica a huge scare in stoppage time. Konstantin Bazelyuk’s near-post flick on found itself to an unmarked Gustavo Tocantins on the other side of Ederson’s goal, but the Brazilian forward missed the target altogether with much of the goal at his mercy.
It finished 1-0 to Benfica, who up their total of points to 35 ahead of Wednesday’s meeting at home to Rio Ave.
Sporting 0-1 Sp. Braga
There was a managerial casualty earlier in the week in the form of ex-Porto boss José Peseiro, whose 2-1 loss at home to Second Division side SC Covilhã in the Taça de Portugal, in addition to Braga’s Europa League elimination, proved to be the final straw for the club’s hierarchy.
With Jorge Simão waiting in the wings, ‘Os Minhotos’ turned to Abel Ferreira, a former Sporting player and current Braga B boss, to deputise in their visit to the Alvalade.
Despite warnings of Wilson Eduardo exposing Sporting’s backline for pace, the first chance fell to the hosts, as a header from Bryan Ruiz inside the box was eventually scuppered by Matheus between the sticks.
In the 14th minute, Braga veteran Alan was able to set Wilson Eduardo through on goal, but the forward’s subtle touch around the on-rushing Rui Patrício left him with a tight angle to score from, subsequently letting the home side off the hook when hitting the side of the net.
As frustration began to pick up around the Alvalade, Gelson Martins attempted to shake off the mood with a low drive from range, skipping past the far post somewhat harmlessly in the 32nd minute.
With no joy in the first period, the hosts turned up the heat as play resumed for the second half, this time Sebastian Coates offering a threat from Sporting’s first set-piece in the 46th minute.
What appeared to be an inoffensive header across goal by the pint-sized figure of Gelson inside the box almost turned into the game’s first goal moments later, bouncing onto the inside of the post and back out for André Pinto to clear.
The head of Ruiz was found once more but, again, Matheus proved to be privy to the diving effort made by the Costa Rican in the 62nd minute.
Somewhat against the run of play, Braga forged a chance of their own when Ricardo Horta got in behind the Sporting defence to hit the post in the 70th minute, but just when you thought play was dead, Wilson Eduardo produced a low drive from outside the box that stunned both Rui Patrício and much of the Alvalade, as the ‘Arsenalistas’ took a 1-0 lead.
Coates and Marko Bakić threatened to alter the score line either side of the 90-minute mark, but 1-0 to Braga would be how it would end to the tune of boos. The loss sees Sporting fall to 4th place ahead of Thursday’s local date with Belenenses, as the gap between ‘the Lions’ and Benfica increases to eight points.
FC Porto 2-1 Chaves
Much like Sporting and Benfica before them, FC Porto came up against a side without a first-team manager in light of Jorge Simão’s pending switch to Braga.
The obligation was the same, however, with ‘the Dragons’ given the chance to not only reply to Benfica’s victory versus Estoril, but also capitalise on the points lost by Sporting on Sunday.
Yacine Brahimi promised the Estádio do Dragão a nudge in the right direction when weaving his way into the box as early as the 2nd minute, but the Algerian could only drag his shot wide on his weaker foot.
Under fortunate circumstances, Chaves managed to stifle the home side’s momentum through the game’s opener, as Rafael Lopes took full advantage of Felipe’s slip to fire a shot over Iker Casillas via a wicked Danilo Pereira deflection.
Waves of attacks came from the visitors in response to Porto opening up, with Iker Casillas being called into action twice before half time, firstly tipping away a Freire header in the 38th minute and then smothering an uncomfortable hit unleashed by Bruno Braga.
With the players out for the second half, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side thought they had clawed back the equaliser early through André Silva, but the 20-year-old’s diving header was chalked off by the officials for an alleged offside.
The Portuguese striker continued to sniff around for the eagerly anticipated goal in the 56th minute with another headed effort, this time hitting the post prior to Antonio Filipe’s collection of the ball.
André Silva’s duel with Antonio Filipe saw the goalkeeper deny him of another close range header, but the Chaves number one was no match for ‘super sub’ Laurent Depoitre, attacking Alex Telles’ tense cross at the near-post and scoring his first league goal in Porto colours.
Approaching the 77th minute, Danilo was on hand to complete the turnaround with a half-volley from distance, ensuring the northern outfit its 10th league victory of the season and cutting the margin between them and Benfica to just one point, although having played an extra game.
By Patrick Ribeiro
Round 14 Results
P. Ferreira 1-0 Belenenses
Moreirense 1-4 Arouca
Estoril 0-1 Benfica
Rio Ave 2-1 Nacional
Tondela 1-1 Boavista
Vit. Guimarães 3-1 Vit. Setúbal
Sporting 0-1 Sp. Braga
Maritimo 2-0 Feirense
FC Porto 2-1 Chaves
