Portuguese Football in English
FC Porto have bought André Franco from Estoril for €4 million. The 24-year-old midfielder has signed a five-year contract at the Estádio do Dragão.
It is Porto’s third signing of the close season, after the purchases of David Carmo and Gabriel Veron.
Vitória de Guimarães suffered a 3-1 defeat against Hajduk Split in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg. Miguel Maga scored a sensational goal to put the Portuguese club into the lead in the 61st minute before Emir Sahiti equalised six minutes later.
Os Conquistadores were the architects of their own demise from then on, Maga’s failed clearance pounced on by Dario Melnjak in the 75th minute, Dani Silva then presenting Filip Krovinović with a chance that he fired into the top corner with minutes remaining.
The wait is almost over. The Primeira Liga kicks off on Friday night at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, as Benfica host Arouca in the inaugural match of the 2022/23 Bwin Liga season.
Ten months from now, in what will be a highly unusual World Cup interrupted season, who will be crowned champions of Portugal?
With the Covid-19 pandemic finally well and truly behind us in terms of the disruption it caused to players, teams and spectators, Benfica, Porto and Sporting supporters all have plenty of reasons for optimism ahead of the new campaign.
Gil Vicente’s European debut ended in a morale boosting 1-1 draw against Riga in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg.
The Latvian club deserved their half time lead after Douglas Aurélio’s opener, but the second half was a different story.
The Gilistas dominated after the break, Juan Manuel Boselli equalising with a brilliant goal before Ali Alipour spurned a glorious chance to snatch victory in the 90th minute.
PortuGOAL's Matthew Marshall breaks down a promising performance from the Portuguese club in Latvia.
Benfica 4-1 Midtjylland
It was a highly satisfactory first competitive match of the season for Benfica who ran out 4-1 winners against Danish outfit Midtjylland in the first leg of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round in Lisbon tonight.
Young Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos scored a hat-trick, Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernández marked his impressive debut with a stunning goal, and such was Benfica’s dominance it is no exaggeration to say that the Portuguese side could have scored double their goal tally. Wasteful finishing and a penalty for Midtjylland scored by Sisto were the only blemishes on a good night for the Eagles.
