Portuguese Football in English
Benfica restored their 8-point lead at the top of the Primeira Liga with a 3-1 victory over Gil Vicente on a rainy Lisbon evening.
Despite not being at their best, a penalty converted by João Mário and a Gonçalo Ramos brace gave the home team the three points, with Fran Navarro inevitably scoring Gil’s goal, also from the penalty spot.
Only one round of matches before the World Cup in Qatar remains in Portugal’s Primeira Liga after this weekend’s action concluded with Chaves and Santa Clara’s 0-0 draw last night.
Elsewhere Casa Pia’s incredible campaign continued as they stunned Braga. Porto and Sporting took advantage with wins over Paços Ferreira and Vitória Guimarães respectively.
At the top though there presently looks to be no catching runaway leaders Benfica, who thrashed Estoril to stretch their advantage as league leaders to eight points. Centre-back António Silva was a surprise contributor with two goals but his high level of performance is quickly becoming the norm as the talented youngster and PortuGOAL Figure of the Week continued to enhance his growing reputation.
The draws for the next phases of UEFA’s club competitions took place today, and Portugal’s four remaining representatives will be mainly pleased with the outcome.
In the Champions League Benfica will play Club Brugge, while FC Porto take on Inter Milan for a place in the quarter-finals.
In the Europa League Sporting were paired with Danish outfit Midtjylland, while Braga will play Italian club Fiorentina in the Conference League.
Benfica have prolonged their exemplary form at the top of the Primeira Liga table with their 11th victory of the league season, defeating Estoril 5-1 away from home.
The Eagles were the last of the ‘Big Three’ in action in a visit to Estoril’s home ground on Sunday night, impressing onlookers with a comprehensive 5-1 triumph, complete with goals from Petar Musa, António Silva, João Mário and Mihailo Ristic.
Prior to Matchday 11’s conclusion, FC Porto firstly set the tone with a big win at home to Paços de Ferreira, as the minnows remained rooted to the bottom of the table after a 4-0 loss. But the show was stolen by Benfica yet again, remaining eight points clear at the top.
A turbulent week for Sporting Clube de Portugal ended on a high note with a comfortable 3-0 win over Vitória in Lisbon tonight.
The home team were well on top even before Afonso Freitas was sent off in the 26th minute. Goals from Pedro Porro and Hidemasa Morita gave the Lions a 2-0 lead at the break, with Marcus Edwards’ deflected shot in the second half completing the scoring.
