Portuguese Football in English
Porto 3-1 Roma (a.e.t. Porto win 4-3 on aggregate)
It was a memorable Champions League night at the Estádio do Dragão on Wednesday evening as Porto completed a 3-1 extra time victory over Roma to progress to the quarter-finals of this season’s competition.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, goals from Tiquinho Soares, Moussa Marega and a penalty from Alex Telles sent the Dragons into the last eight and sparked wild scenes of celebration among the home players, coaching staff and fans.
A dramatic Week 24 of Liga NOS saw the title pendulum swing Benfica’s way after their victory over Porto in the Clássico, while Braga and Sporting consolidated their positions in the top four with wins of their own.
Down at the bottom of the table though the picture is looking distinctly bleak for Feirense, who look doomed to relegation after a 4-0 thrashing away at Belenenses. The home side were inspired by a two goal showing from Kikas, PortuGOAL’s Figure of the Week.
FC Porto 1-2 Benfica
Benfica have risen to the top of the Primeira Liga table after coming back from a goal down to defeat FC Porto 2-1 at the Estádio do Dragão, this Saturday.
Porto took the lead midway through the first half via Adrián López - an effort cancelled out by João Félix’s equaliser before the half-time break.
Rafa Silva’s finish in the 52nd minute completed the turnaround for Benfica, pushing the Eagles two points clear at the top of the table, who were forced to battle through the final exchanges of the encounter reduced to 10 men following Gabriel’s red card.
Saturday night’s clássico is without doubt the biggest game of the Primeira Liga this season, one that will be a huge indicator of who will be crowned champions in May.
With just 10 games left in the league after tomorrow’s showdown only a single point separates the top two sides. Porto are currently in pole position to reclaim the Portuguese league title but since changing coach Benfica have started mounting a mighty challenge. PortuGOAL previews this crucial game.
A couple of shock results in Round 23 of Liga NOS look to have narrowed the title contenders to a two-horse race, Sporting dropping points at Maritimo while Belenenses produced the result of the weekend in beating Braga.
Benfica and Porto took advantage by picking up routine wins but the stand out individual performance came from Ivo Vieira’s extremely impressive Moreirense side. Their star player Chiquinho was on top form once again in a 3-1 victory at Feirense.
