Benfica and Rangers played out an entertaining draw in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on a rainswept night in Lisbon tonight.

Rangers twice took the lead in the first half through Tom Lawrence and Dujon Sterling.

Benfica created plenty of chances but had to rely on a Di María penalty and an own goal by Connor Goldson to draw level and set up a finely balanced second in Glasgow next Thursday. 

In a match that bore similarities to the first group game between these two sides back in October, Sporting were largely second best and rode their luck to come away with a 1-1 draw to take to Italy next week.

Paulinho gave the Lions a good start with a fine goal, but Gianluca Scamacca took advantage of a mix-up in the Sporting defence to equalise before the break.

The Serie A outfit went on to hit the woodwork three times and force Franco Israel into a series of excellent saves. Sporting also hit the post through Coates, but cannot complain about the final score. 

Crunch time for Portugal’s Big Three

From Wednesday 6 March to Thursday 13 March, Sporting, Porto and Benfica play a series of matches that could prove decisive for the success or otherwise of their seasons, and which could also be absolutely pivotal for the future careers of the three current coaches of Portugal’s three major clubs.

Rúben Amorim’s Sporting face a tough schedule but he is arguably the coach who has the most to gain. Benfica’s Roger Schmidt has on paper the easiest fixtures but desperately needs to avoid any slipups to prevent further weakening his fragile position. Porto’s Sérgio Conceição will be eyeing a huge Champions League scalp in the shape of Arsenal, where a triumph will likely have far-reaching consequences ahead of the club’s upcoming presidential elections. 

• Benfica
• FC Porto,
• Galeno
• Sergio Conceicao

Porto produced another great performance at Estádio do Dragão where they thrashed Benfica 5-0 in a dominant performance.

Galeno opened the scoring in the 20th minute and extended the lead on the stroke of half-time, both goals originating from Francisco Conceição’s left foot.

The Eagles struggled after the break and found themselves 3-0 down in the 55th minute when Wendell’s deflected strike gave Anatoliy Trubin no chance.

Benfica’s problems were compounded six minutes later when Nicolás Otamendi received a second yellow card, Roger Schmidt and his side passengers for the rest of the contest.

Porto didn’t let their rivals off the hook, Pepê Aquino slamming the ball past Trubin in the 75th minute and Jorge Sánchez’s cross converted by Danny Namaso on the cusp of full-time.

The result sees Sporting Clube de Portugal stay one point clear of Benfica with a game in hand, Porto seven points further back with ten games to play.