• Campeonato Portugal Prio
• Farense
• Tavinho

And so it is that we’ve reached the fifth and final part of PortuGOAL’s Campeonato de Portugal Prio review.

In keeping with order, that takes us neatly onto Série E and what has been the story of domination for one club. Primeira Liga mainstays of yesteryear, Farense, are out on their own at the top, although their season has recently been tainted by tragedy.

A dramatic weekend in the Liga NOS saw the title race cracked open with a change in leadership for the first time this season, Porto surrendering their lead to defending champions Benfica after a surprise loss away to Belenenses. Braga also breathed new life into their hopes of finishing 3rd with a tense victory over Sporting.

However, the standout performance, and PortuGOAL’s Figure of the Week, was an easy one to identify, Vitória Setúbal striker Edinho becoming the first player to score 4 goals in a single match this season in their 4-1 triumph at Aves.

• Benfica
• Primeira Liga,
• Sporting,
• Sporting de Braga,
• Belenenses

With the last international break now behind us, it was time for a Primeira Liga outfits up and down Portugal to rev their engines ahead of the final seven-game dash towards the end of the season, with many tales still to be revealed along the way.

The first of which came at the Estádio da Luz, where a Jonas brace positioned Benfica to reclaim top-spot in a 2-0 victory over Vitória de Guimarães, last Saturday. Later in the night, Sporting’s view of the title was eclipsed by their new tussle for third place, as Raul Silva’s late goal moved Braga to within a point of the Lions, while also all but ending the Lisbon club’s hopes of winning the Liga NOS.

On Monday night FC Porto would succumb to an even bigger shock away to Belenenses, as a 2-0 loss - only their second league defeat of the season - allowed the four-time champions Benfica to rise to the summit of the league table with a one-point advantage over the Dragons with six matches left to play.

In Part 4 of PortuGOAL’s look at the Campeonato de Portugal Prio season review, we’re heading into Série D territory. And that means taking a trip to the beautiful national capital, Lisbon, and its surrounds. There is also the southern Leiria region (home of this season’s Taça de Portugal giant slayers, Caldas) and the Atlantic island chain of the Azores.

Despite being some 950 miles (1,446 km) from Lisbon, the Azores have two clubs present in Série D - Praiense and Lusitânia - with another two in Série E (more on that next week). It ensures each club a good supply of air miles throughout the season but can also prove a logistical nightmare for some as we’ll see later in this article.