Braga's form has been slept on for sometime now but, with Benfica coming to town defending just a three-point-advantage over the fourth-placed side, here stood the chance for 'the Arsenalistas' to gain some much-deserved recognition for their campaign thus far. It didn't work out that way for the northerners, however, as a Benfica side, led by goals from Eduardo Salvio, Jonas and Raúl Jiménez , maintained their excellent form to side-step Braga with a 3-1 victory, as the Eagles neared Sporting in the table.
That was until another hat-trick from Bas Dost set the Lions back off into the distance with a 3-0 home win over Desportivo das Aves, claiming top-spot in the Primeira Liga for the time being.
The two Lisbon outfits then awaited the conclusion of Estoril's clash with league leaders FC Porto last night. The bottom-of-the-table side led 1-0 before the game was abandoned at half-time due to the structural instability of one of the stands. PortuGOAL takes you through the events of Matchday 18.
Sp. Braga 1-3 Benfica
Trotting along quietly through their campaign, Braga were now faced with the expectation of conquering Benfica at home in order to leap-frog the title-holders in third place.
Salvio looked to ensure that wouldn't be the case with his opener in the 10th minute, sneaking in behind the hosts backline before finishing first-time past the on-rushing Matheus.
The Eagles held onto their early lead into the second period, where Jardel would commence by heading dangerously against the far-post before Jonas' penalty claim.
Benfica's Brazilian talisman was not to be denied, though, spreading the play wide in the 64th minute for André Almeida prior to ghosting in behind his marker and heading in Benfica's second from the right-back's cross.
With Bruno Varela indecisive between his posts, Paulinho grabbed a goal back for Braga in the 73rd minute with a looping header over the keeper, but Raúl Jiménez extinguished all hope of a fight-back come stoppage time, volleying past Matheus at the back-post to secure a 3-1 win.
Sporting 3-0 Desp. Aves
There was plenty of intrigue at the Alvalade, as Jorge Jesus unveiled one of his winter acquisitions in Ruben Ribeiro, lining up in attack with Dost in red-hot form.
The two took just 30 minutes to link up to great effect, as Ribeiro sought the space to deliver a measured cross onto Dost's head which the Dutchman buried, giving Sporting a 1-0 lead.
Jesus' men dominated, but not without their scares - Amilton's near-post header five minutes from the half-time break had the crossbar rattling and the home fans momentarily quaking.
With Gelson Martins being brought down inside the box early in the second half, Dost was given the chance to nab his double from the spot, doing so with a clean finish into the low right-hand corner that left Sporting two ahead in the 51st minute.
Three was the magic number in Lisbon, as Cristiano Piccini raced on down the right channel late on to feed Dost for a third, leaving the ex-Wolfsburg man beaming at the sight of consecutive league hat-tricks and another victory for his team, this time by a 3-0 score-line.
Estoril 1-0 FC Porto
(To be continued)
A few worries lingered ahead of Porto's trip to the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota, as the Dragons' attacking sector had to deal with the loss of its playmaker in chief, Yacine Brahimi, to injury.
Estoril surprised their opponents by taking the lead in the 17th minute, Eduardo bending a free-kick up and over José Sá from an angle he had no business shooting from.
Renan then came up clutch at the other with a big stop from close range to deny Vincent Aboubakar an equaliser in the 24th minute, and Diego Reyes went one better to head onto the crossbar on the brink of half-time.
Play in the second period wouldn't resume, however, with the entirety of the away support evacuated onto the pitch for safety reasons, relative to the stand's stability.
An announcement from Liga Portugal, regarding the continuation of the remaining 45 minutes is expected shortly.
By Patrick Ribeiro
Matchday 18
Chaves 4-3 Vit. Guimarães
P. Ferreira 1-1 Marítimo
Sp. Braga 1-3 Benfica
Boavista 2-0 Portimonense
Tondela 3-1 Feirense
Belenenses 1-2 Rio Ave
Sporting 3-0 Desp. Aves
Moreirense 2-2 Vit. Setúbal
Estoril 1-0 FC Porto - (TBC)
