Sporting and FC Porto have added breathing space between themselves and third-placed Benfica after the latter’s draw 1-1 against FC Vizela on Friday night was met by a couple of wins from the current Primeira Liga title contenders.
The narrative was set up by Benfica’s misstep at home to Vizela, helped on by Adel Taarabt’s early red card in a 1-1 draw at the Estádio da Luz.
In response, FC Porto distanced themselves from their third-placed rivals with a strong outing against Tondela, winning 4-0 at the Estádio do Dragão and opening up a 12-point-gap between themselves and the Eagles.
Sporting matched the result with a 2-0 win away to Moreirense as strike duo Islam Slimani and Paulinho starred, keeping them six points off top spot and still in the hunt to retain their league title.
Benfica 1-1 Vizela
Days away from a decisive journey to Amsterdam to face Ajax in the UEFA Champions League, Benfica were out to rev their engines against 14th-placed Vizela at the Estádio da Luz.
Against Nélson Veríssimo’s best intentions, however, Benfica braced themselves for 84 minutes of football with a numerical disadvantage after Taarabt was reprimanded with a red card for a stamp on his opponent.
Nevertheless, the Eagles still carried most of the threat as a Darwin Nuñez header came close to breaking the deadlock prior to a huge Pedro Silva stop late in the first half.
Cassiano complicated matters for Benfica in the 65th minute with the opener for Vizela but the hosts came right back at the newly-promoted side with an equaliser, ten minutes on, with Henrique Araujo claiming his first league goal for the Lisbon giants.
In the dying embers of normal time, Rafa Silva, following an electrifying solo run, was close to turning the game on its head before his toe-poke was cleared off the line, leaving Benfica at the mercy of results around them after a 1-1 draw.
FC Porto 4-0 Tondela
Matchday in Porto, without the captain Pepe, left supporters and onlookers on high alert as Tondela, desperate for points in 16th place, came searching for joy at the Estádio do Dragão.
The minnows put up a valiant fight up until a Modibo Sagnan miss-kick, clipping Mehdi Taremi’s foot, enabled the Iranian striker to give Porto a 1-0 lead going into the half-time break, via the penalty spot.
Things went from bad to worse after Manu Hernando’s sending off in the 65th minute for Tondela, followed up by a couple of goals in three minutes from Galeno and Fábio Vieira to take the Dragons 3-1 up.
Francisco Conceição added the finishing touches to a 4-1 win in the 79th minute, taking Porto nine points clear of trailing Sporting, momentarily.
Moreirense 0-2 Sporting
Up against former club hero Ricardo Sá Pinto, Sporting were left looking up at the evasive Porto in their mission to secure three points away from home.
The Lions took 30 minutes to find the back of the net after new boys Marcus Edwards and Slimani combined for the Algerian’s headed goal.
Sporting weren’t done there for the first half, doubling their lead through Paulinho’s first time finish, courtesy of Pedro Porto’s delivery from the right.
Game-management was the chorus for the second half of football in Moreira de Cónegos, with the 'Green & Whites' appearing more than happy to settle for the advantage conjured up in the first period, seeing them through to the final whistle with all three points.
By Patrick Ribeiro
Matchday 26
Benfica 1-1 Vizela
Estoril 2-0 Portimonense
Famalicão 0-0 Santa Clara
Arouca 0-1 P. Ferreira
B SAD 0-0 Boavista
Marítimo 0-1 Vitória
FC Porto 4-0 Tondela
Sp. Braga 0-1 Gil Vicente
Moreirense 0-2 Sporting
