It’s going down to the wire. The 2024/25 Portuguese championship will be decided on the last matchday of the season after Benfica and Sporting played out an intense Lisbon derby that ended in a 1-1 draw.

The Lions got off to the perfect start when Francisco Trincão scored after just four minutes with a terrific first-time shot from the top of the box to finish off a flowing move.

Sporting looked composed until midway through the first half when the hosts, urged on by the vast majority of the huge crowd, began to apply incessant pressure, Rui Silva saving miraculously when Aktürkoglu seemed certain to score.

The second half was one-way traffic but it needed a moment of magic from Pavlidis to breach the Sporting defence, the Greek striker’s brilliant dribble setting up the equaliser for Aktürkoglu.

Pavlidis hit the post but Sporting survived the late onslaught. To retain the title, Rui Borges’ team must match the points in their last home game against Vitória that Benfica get away at Braga. Tom Kundert reports from the Estádio da Luz. 

The Porto derby, also known as Dérbi da Invicta, offers football fans a mouthwatering fixture this weekend that should provide plenty of excitement and entertainment. This derby is usually a fiery affair, but there will be some added incentive this time around with Boavista FC and FC Porto entering the penultimate round of the Primeira Liga season with plenty to play for. These two clubs may be on opposite ends of the table, but both sides are desperately in need of points coming into Sunday’s clash. 

A last minute winner from Abdoulay Diaby against AVS last week saw Boavista overtake the Aves-based club to move up to 16th in the table. It was the first time Boavista have moved out of the bottom two since Jornada 15. Stuart Baxter’s side are level on points with AVS and Farense going into the final two matches, and every point will be critical as the three clubs enter the final stretch knowing only one of them can avoid relegation. 

Meanwhile, Porto find themselves tangled in a battle for third-place with SC Braga. If the Dragons do finish fourth, it would be the first time the club have ended a season outside of the top three since 1976.

An entire season of hard grind, high hopes, sacrifices, tough decisions, carefully laid plans ripped to pieces, some stunning moments, some stirring triumphs, a few major disappointments, all seasoned with a healthy dose of refereeing controversy (this is Portugal after all) and… it all boils down to 90 minutes, this weekend in the Portuguese capital.

More specifically at the Estádio da Luz. On Saturday evening. 6pm local time.

This is the Lisbon derby nobody dares miss. PortuGOAL previews what is being called the most important Benfica versus Sporting encounter this century. 

A gripping title race in Portugal comes to a thrilling crescendo next weekend. The Portuguese capital is sure to come to a standstill when Lisbon rivals Benfica and Sporting go head-to-head in the penultimate match of the 2024/25 Primeira Liga season at the Estádio da Luz.

By the time the referee blows the final whistle at around 8pm on Saturday evening, Sporting could have retained their crown, Benfica could be anointed championship winners, or the tension could be prolonged until the final day of the season.

PortuGOAL will provide a detailed preview ahead of the fixture dubbed “the eternal derby” later this week, but for now let us simply map out the scenarios.