For the fourth match running, Sporting fans saw their team snatch victory in stoppage time. Against Paris Saint-Germain and Arouca, Colombian hotshot Luis Suárez had been the hero, scoring a brace in both games with the winning goal coming in added time on both occasions.
In Bilbao on Tuesday, Alisson Santos scored a 96th-minute winner against Athletic to qualify Sporting for the round of 16 in the Champions League.
This afternoon it was Suárez who grabbed a late late winner again, netting with a spectacular backheel from an Alisson Santos cross to send the home supporters wild with delight again.
More incredible scenes at Alvalade. Sporting seemed to have snatched last-gasp 2-1 win against stubborn Nacional da Madeira but goal ruled offside. No matter, Luis Suárez scores brilliant goal deep in stoppage time to grab all 3 points. FOURTH game in a row Sporting have scored a… pic.twitter.com/EUu1ucEdAP
For much of the game Nacional had matched Sporting. Indeed, it needed a miraculous last-ditch interception from Geny Catamo to prevent Gabriel Veron from giving the islanders an early lead, the Mozambican celebrating as if he’d scored a goal.
Sporting only came close to scoring in the first half shortly before the interval, Nacional goalkeeper Kaique saving at full-stretch from Suárez.
The hosts finally took the lead in the 73rd minute. Trincão’s shot was well-saved by Kaique but Pedro Gonçalves was on hand to steer in the rebound. But three minutes later Nacional were level, a well-worked move finished by Alan Nuñez and just reward for the positive gameplan implemented by Tiago Margarido’s team.
On the stroke of full time Suárez thought he had won it for Sporting, but his brilliant volley on the stretch from Trincão’s cross was chalked off by VAR for an 8cm-offside. It mattered not as in the final minute of stoppage time Suárez was on hand to score with an even better finish.
The feel good factor at Benfica following their Champions League heroics has been tarnished after a 0-0 draw against Tondela.
The torrential rain that Storm Kristin has been unleashing on the country continued at Estádio João Cardoso where terrible conditions persisted for the duration of the match.
Gianluca Prestianni failed to spot Vangelis Pavlidis wide open early on before sending the Greek striker through on goal, he lost his footing in the heavy conditions.
Andreas Schjelderup was looking lively but it would be Tondela that went desperately close in the 26th minute. Samuel Dahl made a mess of a regulation clearance, Rodrigo Conceição pouncing and finding Jordan Siebatcheus who hit the post.
That was as good as it got for the hosts as Benfica began to dominate, Bernardo Fontes saving efforts from Prestianni and Pavlidis.
Leandro Barreiro got past Bebeto near the byline and drove into the box, the midfielder going to ground with referee Luís Godinho awarding a penalty. He was summoned to the touchline monitor by the VAR and predictably reversed his decision.
Daniel Banjaqui’s shot was tipped over the bar by Fontes who continued where he left off after the break, parrying Prestianni’s effort wide.
Benfica turned up the heat as the conditions continued to wreak havoc and deny José Mourinho’s side any ability to play free flowing football.
Sidny Lopes and Rafa entered the fray, Lopes immediately delivering a cross to Pavlidis who headed wide. Prestianni missed the target and Fontes denied Fredrik Aursnes on two occasions as the clock ticked down.
Mourinho introduced Bruma and Anísio Cabral but there would be no breakthrough. Bruma, Dahl and Cabral failed to take their opportunities as the relegation threatened hosts held on for a valuable point.
Familiar Tale
Benfica find themselves in a strange situation in the Primeira Liga, undefeated in 20 matches but sitting third on the table. They trail Sporting CP by five points and could be 12 behind Porto in 24 hours time.
Despite the atrocious conditions which made passing inside the box virtually impossible, the Eagles ended with 20-6 shots including 8-1 on target.
Bernardo Fontes was a deserved man of the match, Mourinho summing it up by saying: “We weren't effective. Even with the difficult pitch conditions, the team tried to create chances and play until the end. The Tondela goalkeeper made some very valuable saves.”
“What I feared was an emotional hangover from Wednesday’s game and a lack of concentration or an arrogant attitude. But it was precisely the opposite,” added Mourinho. “The team respected the game, played to win, did everything to win, deserved to win, but didn’t win.”
Spanish coach Carlos Vicens has built a strong team at Braga. (Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
It was a soporific game that will not live long in the memory but Braga will not care about that as they ended their Europa League campaign with a 0-0 draw in the Netherlands against Go Ahead Eagles to finish in 6th place in the standings to qualify directly for the round of sixteen.
Five wins, two draws and just a single defeat in eight games is a highly positive showing by Carlos Vicens’ men, who will feel they can make further progress in the knockout stages.
The standout results in Europe this season include home wins over Feyenoord and Nottingham Forest and victory at Celtic Park in Glasgow.
Benefiting from a well-balanced squad, including the likes of experienced campaigners João Moutinho and Ricardo Horta, players at the top of their game such as Rodrigo Zalazar and Victor Gómez, and a smattering of extremely promising youngsters such as goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, midfielder Mario Dorgeles and striker Pau Victor, the Warriors have been especially impressive in the biggest matches this season, both internationally and domestically.
Braga got to the final of the Europa League in 2011, losing an all-Portuguese affair against FC Porto in Dublin. With the Dragons also into the last 16 and the two clubs on different sides of the draw, what price a repeat of that final in Istanbul in May!?
Porto beat Rangers 3-1 at Estádio do Dragão to finish fifth in the league phase of the Europa League.
Francesco Farioli’s side got off to a fast start but were caught out in the 6th minute.
Trying to play the ball out from the back, Jakub Kiwior's pass was picked off by James Tavernier, Findlay Curtis sending a cross into the danger area where Djeidi Gassama headed the ball past Diogo Costa.
Samu Aghehowa shot over the bar before Porto equalised in the 27th minute. William Gomes lost possession in the box but the ball fell perfectly for Rodrigo Mora, the 18-year-old taking a touch and firing into the net.
Porto stayed on the front foot as Pepê raced past Tavernier and appeared certain to score, Emmanuel Fernandez making a textbook challenge before the Brazilian could shoot.
Tavernier’s eventful evening took a turn for the worst in the 36th minute when he made a meal attempting to clear Yan Bednarek’s long ball. The veteran collided with Jack Butland which presented Francisco Moura with an empty net.
The comeback was complete five minutes later following Willam Gomes’ curling corner. Fernandez was involved in a challenge with Bednarek and headed into his own net.
The second half was an uneventful affair. Nicolas Raskin’s long range strike was their only chance of note, Costa doing well to divert the ball wide.
The goalkeeper hurt his knee but carried on, Pepê firing over the bar and spurning another chance after a long run forward from Borja Sainz.
The victory was assured as Porto cruised to the finish line, finishing fifth and earning a free ride to the round of 16 where they will face Celtic, Ludogorets, Stuttgart or Ferencvaros.
Anatoliy Trubin, Benfica’s players and their fans celebrate the goalkeeper’s incredible last-gasp winner. (Photo: Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
No silverware was won, but 28 January 2026 is a night that will go down in Portuguese football folklore.
Fans of Benfica and Sporting ended the league phase of the Champions League in euphoria after coming from behind against Real Madrid and Athletic Club respectively to obtain the results they needed to achieve their aims at the start of the night.
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Benfica 4-2 Real Madrid – Eagles do the impossible!
For Benfica in particular, a match played in the backdrop of torrential rain could not have been more dramatic. Sitting on just six points at kick-off, Benfica’s chances of making it into the playoffs were slim, not least because as well as relying on a series of other results going their way, they had to deal with the small matter of beating Real Madrid in the Portuguese capital.
And when Kylian Mbappé headed Real in front against the run of play in the 30th minute it looked all over for Benfica. But by half time the Eagles had turned it around thanks to goals from man-of-the-match Andreas Schjelderup and a Pavlidis penalty, and the home team were fully deserving of the lead having missed a host of glaring opportunities to score more goals.
Schjelderup and Trubin heroics
In the second half Schjelderup and Mbappé scored again, but as the game went into stoppage time Benfica were out of the playoff places. Hope was kept alive when Raul Asencio and Rodrygo were both sent off for second yellow cards, and by that stage news had got through to the players that one more goal would suffice to stay in the competition.
A last throw of the dice saw goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin going up for a late free kick and the fans could scarcely believe their eyes when the Ukrainian sent a powerful header into the net to book Benfica’s place in the playoffs and trigger wild scenes of celebration.
Trubin heads in Benfica’s fourth goal to qualify Benfica for the Champions League playoffs. (Photo: Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)
Athletic Club 2-3 Sporting – Lions round off superb campaign in style
Sporting’s Ousmane Diomande celebrates scoring his first-half equaliser. (Photo: Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images)
It’s a tough ask for any Portuguese club to finish in the top eight of the first phase of the newfangled Champions League, given the huge financial gulf between the best Primeira Liga clubs and the best teams from wealthier countries.
And when the draw dictated that Sporting would have to play Napoli, Juventus and Bayern Munich away, and the current holders of the trophy PSG at home, even the most optimistic Sporting fan would have been content if the Lions managed to qualify for the playoffs.
Yet, going into the final round of matches in 10th position, Sporting’s solid campaign, highlighted by last week’s 2-1 victory over reigning European champions PSG at Alvalade, had opened up the possibility of direct progress to the round of sixteen.
But in Bilbao that looked unlikely for the first hour as Athletic Club, needing a win to make the playoffs, twice took the lead through Oihan Sancet and Gorka Guruzeta, Ousmane Diomande equalising in between.
Rui Borges makes the right moves
The match turned with a triple substitution made by Sporting coach Rui Borges in the 54th minute, Eduardo Quaresma, Hidemasa Morita and Pedro Gonçalves entering the fray for Diomande, João Simões and Daniel Bragança respectively.
The Portuguese team at last got their attacking game going, Francisco Trincão finishing off a slick move to make it 2-2 with half an hour remaining.
Geny Catamo had a shot well saved by Unai Simón, Luis Suárez put the ball in the net but was narrowly offside, and a penalty awarded to Sporting was chalked off after a VAR review.
With both exhausted teams going for the win in a wide-open stoppage time period, it was Sporting who got the all-important goal, late substitute Alisson Santos firing into the net on the follow-up after Simón had denied Luis Suárez.
Sporting’s players, the entire delegation on the bench and their fans in the stands celebrated wildly. A few minutes later the intense rush of dopamine would be replicated back in Lisbon at cross-town rivals Benfica.
For one night at least, both Lisbon clubs will put their fierce rivalry aside, metaphorically pat each other on the back, and mutter in unison – isso é futebol caralho!
The feel good factor at Benfica following their Champions League heroics has been tarnished after a 0-0 draw against Tondela.
Porto beat Rangers 3-1 at Estádio do Dragão to finish fifth in the league phase of the Europa League.
