Portuguese Football in English
Twenty years after last making a final (the Portuguese Cup) Marítimo are again in a showpiece event thanks to a 2-1 victory over Porto in last night's semi-final of the Taça da Liga.
The Madeira club will play Benfica in the final in the last week in April, with the exact date and venue yet to be announced.
After 26 matches of the Portuguese Primeira Liga season, Porto refuse to give up the chase on the pace-setters all season, Benfica. Just three points now separate the Dragons from their arch-rivals and the current table-toppers.
However, Porto are also in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and their quest for European glory may see their domestic form suffer. Here, we take a look at the next Liga match for the two Portuguese heavyweights, who will both be desperate to gain any ground on each other ahead of their head-to-head clash at the end of April.
As things move closer towards the crescendo of the Champions League, there are eight teams still vying for the most prestigious title in club football.
Though La Liga is, as usual, well represented, there is a good range of top clubs from different countries amongst the remaining elite.
Notably, there are no English Premier League sides, but Ligue 1, Serie A, the Bundesliga and the Primeira Liga all field sides in mid-April.
On a weekend when the long winning runs of Benfica and Porto were halted, the upshot was that both of the fierce rivals now depend only on themselves to win the championship.
Benfica travelled to Rio Ave and lost 2-1, while Porto were unable to take full advantage as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Nacional da Madeira. There are now three points separating the top two, with the Eagles hosting the Dragons at the end of April in what has the makings of an authentic title decider.
Sporting's 4-1 victory against Vitória Guimarães in Lisbon, along with Braga's goalless home draw against Académica all but sealed third spot for the Lions.
FC Porto were paired with Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in this morning's draw in Nyon. The first leg will be at the Estádio do Dragão on 15 April, with the return match at the Allianz Arena on 22 April.
The Dragons face a titanic task to make the last four, given that most analysts would agreed Bayern and Barcelona are the strongest teams in Europe at this point in time.
On the plus side, Porto can take inspiration from the strong German connection to the club's two greatest ever moments.
