Having left the likes of FC Porto and Benfica behind them in previous rounds, Moreirense last night beat Braga 1-0 in the final of the Taça da Liga (Portuguese league cup) to lift silverware for the first time in their history.

It is a remarkable achievement for one of the more modest clubs in Portugal’s top flight, which is from Moreira de Cónegos, a village with a population of under 5,000 people.

At the start of the new “Final Four” format, whereby the semi-finals and final were played at the same venue – the Algarve Stadium – over five days, Moreirense were very much the underdogs among the four teams, but it would be Augusto Inácio’s men who came out on top.

PortuGoal resumes its series of in-depth analyses of Portugal’s lesser known teams by turning the spotlight on Marítimo.

In 2016/17, after a poor start and a change of coach early on the campaign, the islanders have been on a fabulous run.

Marítimo are the only team in Portugal to beat Benfica this season, have risen to 7th in the standings and are very much in contention for Europa League qualification. Tiago Estêvão explains the reasons behind their success.

An ultimately comfortable 4-0 victory over Tondela at the Estádio da Luz on Sunday enabled Benfica to maintain their 4-point lead at the top of the table. Basement dwellers Tondela held out for an hour, but once the excellent Pizzi made the breakthrough other goals soon followed.

Porto had a scare at the Estádio do Dragão, with Rio Ave coming from behind to take the lead early in the second half. However, thanks in no small measure to the brilliant crossing of Alex Telles (three assists), Porto ran out 4-2 winners with all their goals scored from headers.

Sporting dropped further behind in the title race, drawing 2-2 in Madeira against Marítimo. The Lions twice came from behind and were left complaining about the referee again as a late Alan Ruiz goal was chalked off after being incorrectly ruled offside.

In the Minho derby, Vitória Guimarães won at Braga for the first time since 2002. PortuGOAL rounds up the top weekend action from the Liga NOS.

With the Liga NOS at the exact midpoint of 2016/17, it’s time to assess how each of the perpetual title challengers have fared up to now.

PortuGOAL’s Benfica, Porto and Sporting experts give their verdict of how their respective team has done so far this season as well as their forecast about what awaits the Big Three in the remainder of the campaign.

In addition, our tactical guru Tiago Estêvão summarises the issues Rui Vitória, Nuno Espírito Santo and Jorge Jesus have faced this term.