Portuguese Football in English
Porto 1-1 Rangers
Porto and Rangers fought to the end in a 1-1 draw at the Estádio do Dragão which leaves both clubs alive in the UEFA Europa League. A Luis Díaz screamer gave the Portuguese club the lead, Alfredo Morelos equalised for Rangers before the break with both teams squandering opportunities to take all three points.
Matchday Three round-upBenfica are back in contention to qualify from Champions League knockout stage after a 2-1 victory over Lyon. Rafa Silva scored early, Memphis Depay equalised in the second half, before a crass mistake from Lyon’s Portuguese goalkeeper Anthony Lopes allowed Pizzi to net a late winner. Benfica remain bottom of Group G, but are only three points behind leaders RB Leipzig and one back from 2nd-place Zenit with all four teams in with a shout of making progress.
Elsewhere, after goals galore and bright performances all round from foreign-based Portuguese players in matchday two, this week saw a largely disappointing set of matches from the Portuguese point of view. PortuGOAL rounds up all the action as the 2019/20 Champions League group stage reaches the halfway stage.
Benfica 2-1 LyonBenfica recorded a vital 2-1 win against Lyon in the UEFA Champions League at the Estadio da Luz tonight. Rafa Silva gave the Portuguese champions an early lead before picking up an injury and replaced by Pizzi. The Benfica captain capitalised on a howler from Anthony Lopes to score the winner in the 85th minute after Memphis Depay had equalised for the French side.
Here are Benfica’s player ratings.
The third round of the Taça de Portugal is the stage at which top-flight clubs enter the competition. The rules were changed some years ago whereby the draw is seeded and all teams from the top division play their 3rd-round opponents away from home, which has led to a much higher prevalence of surprise results.
This year was no exception with no fewer than seven Primeira Liga teams knocked out of the competition by clubs from the lower leagues.
Europa League matchday two roundupIt was a largely disappointing night for Portuguese clubs in the Europa League. In the afternoon games, despite creating chances a-plenty, Porto lost 2-0 at Feyenoord, while Braga let victory slip in the dying minutes of a 2-2 draw against Slovan Bratislava at the quarry. The late kick-offs saw Sporting grab a fortunate victory against LASK, but Vitória Guimarães had no such luck as they were defeated by Eintracht Frankfurt.
Elsewhere it was a good night for Wolves while the football-starved Diogo Dalot and Ronny Lopes got minutes under their belts. Tonight’s games will certainly affect the predictions of punters wagering on which Portuguese side will go furthest in the Europa League at bet365. PortuGOAL rounds up all the action.
