Reigning Portuguese champions Sporting earned an important win in Rio Maior this afternoon, beating Casa Pia 3-1 thanks to the exact same recipe as last weekend’s victory over Estoril – a Gonçalo Inácio header and a Viktor Gyökeres brace.

A potentially difficult encounter was on the cards with Casa Pia unbeaten at home since August, but Sporting took an early lead when centre-back Inácio headed in a fine Geovany Quenda cross. Gyökeres was causing Casa Pia’s defenders all sorts of problems and the Swede doubled the visitors’ lead in the 34th minute when he latched onto Morten Hjulmand’s long pass, drove into the penalty area and beat Patrick Sequeira with a low cross-shot although the normally reliable Costa Rican goalkeeper should have kept it out.

The hosts got back into the game on the stroke of half time as Ricardo Esgaio turned a dangerous cross from the impressive Gaizka Larrazabal into his own net and Casa Pia applied pressure at the start of the second half, Rui Silva saving athletically from José Fonte.

Francisco Trincão earned a penalty when he was felled by a clumsy Duplexe Tchamba tackle, which Gyökeres duly dispatched in emphatic fashion to end all doubts about the winner. Sporting remain three points ahead of Lisbon rivals Benfica having played one game more. 

Braga all but ended Porto’s slim chances of fighting for the title with a deserved 1-0 victory at the Quarry tonight. A strong start by the hosts was rewarded when captain Ricardo Horta fired in direct from a free kick from a tight angle, Porto and Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa not exempt from blame.

It proved enough to claim the win – Porto failing to call Braga goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek into serious action all game – which puts the Arsenalistas level on points with the Dragons in joint third. Both teams are six points behind leading duo Sporting and Benfica having played a game more.

Earlier in the afternoon, Benfica put pressure on their Lisbon rivals and table-toppers Sporting by dispatching Nacional da Madeira 3-0 at the Estádio da Luz.

Coach Bruno Lage significantly rotated the team in view of the fact the match came in the middle of the last-16 Champions League tie against Barcelona. Nevertheless, an early goal by Zeki Amdouni and two penalties, converted by Orkun Kökçü and Vangelis Pavlidis, gave the Eagles a routine victory. 

Vitória de Guimarães earned a 2-2 draw against Real Betis in an entertaining UEFA Conference League clash at Estadio Benito Villamarín.

Both teams had chances in the first half before the game came alive after the break, Cédric Bakambu putting Real Betis ahead in the 49th minute when he converted from close range.

Guimarães equalised two minutes later when João Mendes Saraiva sent a sweet strike past Fran Vieites. Bakambu hit the post before Betis regained the lead in the 75th minute, Isco finding the bottom corner.

The home crowd had their celebrations extinguished in the 82nd minute when Luís Freire’s side equalised once again, Nélson Oliveira getting past Natan and beating Vieites.

It was a well earned point in Sevilla and Vitória will fancy their chances in Guimarães next week with a quarter-final spot up for grabs.

Benfica 0-1 Barcelona

Benfica have only themselves to blame after missing a glorious opportunity to take a lead back to Spain for the second leg. The Eagles huffed and puffed but were unable to break down a resilient 10-man Barcelona team. Bruno Lage's side missed countless clear cut chances. Barcelona, who played 70 minutes with 10 men, were uninspiring on the night, but an excellent piece of individual play from Raphinha was enough to give the Catalan side a vital 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of this European Champions League tie.  

Benfica finished with more than twice as many total shots as their opponents but were unable to get on the scoresheet. Barcelona are known for their flowing and attacking style of play, but this was a masterclass in game management. An efficient and hard working display that achieved their ultimate goal. The visitors were well organised and their back four did well to frustrate Benfica's front three. Veteran keeper Wojciech Szczesny pulled off some quality saves late in the game to ensure the visitor were able to escape with an advantage. 

Sahir Bhojwani reports from the Estádio da Luz.