After five matches in the Europa League both Porto and Braga are in an automatic qualification position for the round of sixteen after tonight’s results completed a highly positive week for Portuguese clubs in Europe.
The northern neighbours were both grateful to their Spanish Gabri’s for vital goals as the Blue & Whites beat Nice 3-0 (two goals from Gabri Veiga) at the Estádio do Dragão and Braga drew 1-1 (Gabri Martínez scoring) against Rangers despite playing a significant proportion of the match a man down.
Porto 3-0 Nice
Porto had no trouble seeing off out-of-sorts French outfit Nice, running out 3-0 winners at the Estádio do Dragão thanks to a first-half brace from Gabri Veiga and a second-half penalty converted by Samu.
“This squad is highly committed, honest and professional,” said a satisfied Porto coach, Francesco Farioli after the match.
“The players approached the game in the right way. The early goal helped us put the match in the right direction.
“In the first half we didn’t concede anything. In the second half we dropped our level and it could have cost us a goal. It’s a great result.
“To qualify we need at least 15 points. There’s a long way to go.”
The Dragons sit 8th in the standings and a favourable remaining schedule in the league phase (Malmö and Rangers at home, Plzen away) will make Porto confident of finishing even higher to book their place in the last 16 of the competition.
Rangers 1-1 Braga
Braga travelled to Glasgow again after their 2-0 win at Celtic in October, and started well enough with Ricardo Horta denied twice early on by Jack Butland.
But Rangers came back strongly, Danilo Pereira and Djeidi Gassama thwarted by Hornicek. But there was nothing the Braga goalkeeper could do when Rangers were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half time for a Fran Navarro handball and James Tavernier made no mistake from the spot.
On a windy night at Ibrox the game turned physical and bad-tempered in the second half, and when Rodrigo Zalazar was sent off for an apparent headbutt on Raskin, although he barely made contact, it looked like curtains for Braga.
Curiously, perhaps fired by a perceived injustice, the Portuguese team continued to fight with determination in every challenge and in the 69th minute equalised through Gabri Martínez following a long throw-in after Rangers defender Djiga made a mess of his attempted clearance.
Rangers almost regained the lead straight away, Djiga attempting to make up for his mistake but his header from a corner flew just wide.
At this stage Braga were not looking like a side playing a man down, showing plenty of adventure and a goal at either end looked possible. Ricardo Horta nearly scored directly from a corner, with Victor Gomes latching onto Butland’s unconvincing save and firing towards goal, with the goalkeeper forced to tip the ball over the bar.
Deep in stoppage time Rangers defender Mohammed Diomandé was sent off for a second yellow card, but no further goals were scored.
Braga are 7th in the standings with matches against Nice (away), Nottingham Forest (home) and Go Ahead Eagles (away) to come.
Sporting continued their excellent Champions League campaign by clocking up their third successive home win by outclassing Club Brugge in Lisbon tonight.
Goals by Geovany Quenda, Luis Suárez and Francisco Trincão gave the Portuguese champions a thoroughly deserved 3-0 victory and lifts Rui Borges’ men into the top eight with three matches remaining of the league phase of the competition.
Tom Kundert reports from the José Alvalade stadium.
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Man-of-the-match Maxi Araújo set the tone for the match and his own display in the early exchanges with an audacious roundhouse turn to set up a chance for Quenda who struck a powerful effort wide.
Brugge replied with Portuguese winger Carlos Forbs showing his pace, Rui Silva saving his effort from a tight angle.
Red card scare
Disaster seemed to have struck Sporting in the 9th minute when captain Morten Hjulmand was shown a straight red card for a high kick that left Stankovic in a heap on the floor, but upon VAR review the referee downgraded it to a yellow.
In an open game with both teams playing enjoyable proactive football, Christos Tzolis and Luis Suárez exchanged chances, but it was the home team who grabbed the all-important first goal in the 24th minute.
Simões passed to Geny Catamo on the right wing, the Mozambican showing tremendous acceleration and dribbling skills to skin his marker and shoot for goal. Nordin Jackers saved the shot but the ball fell to Quenda, who turned smartly and slotted the ball into the corner of the net.
The hosts soon doubled their lead with Catamo again the catalyst, turning and playing a perfectly timed through ball to Suárez, who kept his cool and dinked the ball over Jackers to make it 2-0.
Sporting on fire
Sporting were now playing some champagne football, Francisco Trincão and Luis Suárez close to scoring again before the break after some beautiful one-touch combinations sliced through the Brugge defence.
Suárez spurned a glaring opportunity to score again upon the restart, Quenda putting him clean through on goal. The Colombian this time opted to round the goalkeeper but a last-ditch challenge by Joaquin Seys saved the day for the Belgians as the Sporting striker hit the post.
To their credit, Brugge did not throw in the towel and enjoyed their best spell of the match for the next 20 minutes, applying heavy pressure on Sporting and winning a series of corners.
They looked certain to pull a goal back in the 65th minute when substitute Nicolo Tesoldi played a one-two and was clean through, his shot beating Rui Silva but rolling just wide of the post.
Trincão makes sure
The miss proved Brugge’s last chance as Francisco Trincão made the most of a fine assist by Quenda to sweep in a shot on the turn and make it 3-0 in the 69th minute, ending any doubts about who would be walking away with the points.
Iván Fresneda, often the ugly duckling for the Alvalade fans, almost got a goal his faultless performance deserved but Jackers saved his shot from a narrow angle.
Sporting coach Rui Borges took advantage of the comfortable scoreline to give Champions League minutes to academy youngsters Salvador Blopa and Rodrigo Ribeiro and the two substitutes almost combined for a goal in the dying seconds, Ribeiro’s pass latched onto by Blopa but Jackers made a brave save, unfortunately injuring himself in the process with the referee sensibly blowing for the final whistle there and then.
An eighth victory in Sporting’s last nine matches in all competitions (the other match being a draw against Juventus in Turin) and the fact a total of five Sporting players who contributed tonight are Alcochete products – Gonçalo Inácio, João Simões, Geovany Quenda, Salvador Blopa and Rodrigo Ribeiro – is ample evidence of a club in a good place right now.
The draw for both the round of sixteen and the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup has been made.
With all the main contenders still in the competition, attention was naturally drawn to the possibility of a Porto v Benfica clássico in the quarter-finals.
But first things first. With 16 teams remaining, there are three all top-flight ties in the fifth round of the Taça de Portugal, with Porto-Famalicão and Santa Clara-Sporting the pick of the bunch.
Famalicão are enjoying a fine season and are currently in fifth place in the standings and are sure to give the current Primeira Liga leaders a tough test at the Estádio do Dragão.
A trip to face Santa Clara in the Azores is always a testing assignment for any team, and Sporting will need no reminding of the fact. The Lions were somewhat fortunate to escape with a last-gasp and controversial victory in the recent league encounter between the two teams in São Miguel.
In the other tie that pits together two sides from the top division, Vitória will fancy their chances at home against rock-bottom AVS.
Full round-of-sixteen draw
Lusitano de Évora-Fafe Casa Pia-Torreense FC Porto-Famalicão Vila Meã-União de Leiria Caldas-SC Braga Farense-Benfica Santa Clara-Sporting Vitória de Guimarães-Aves SAD
Ties to be played between 16 and 18 December 2025
The second phase of the draw decided the quarter-final lineup, and it set up a potential blockbuster matchup. Should Porto beat Famalicão and Benfica overcome Farense in the Algarve, the two bitter rivals will meet with a place in the semi-finals at stake.
Braga will be pleased with the outcome. Carlos Vicens’ side can reach the semi-finals if they win two ties in which they will play lower-level opposition, the first of which Caldas SC who knocked out Tondela in the fourth round.
An unfamiliar name will also be in the semi-finals, with one of Casa Pia, Torreense, Vila Meã or União de Leiria making the last four of competition at least.
Quarter-final draw
FC Porto-Famalicão/Farense-Benfica Casa Pia-Torreense/Vila Meã-União de Leiria Lusitano de Évora-Fafe/Caldas-SC Braga Santa Clara-Sporting/Vitória de Guimarães-Aves SAD
Leandro Barreiro scores at the Johan Cruijff Arena to make sure of the points for Benfica. (Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Benfica kept their hopes of making progress to the knockout phase of the Champions League alive tonight thanks to a 2-0 victory against Ajax in the Netherlands.
Two fine goals, one at the start of the match by Samuel Dahl, the other and the end of the match by Leandro Barreiro, gave the Eagles their first three points of the UCL league phase in 2025/26.
Benfica fans will be hoping the club has turned the corner after a spirited display and a deserved victory.
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European greats fallen on hard times
The game pitted together Europe’s best team in the 1960s against Europe’s best team of the 1970s, but both clubs are a long way from those golden years, with neither Benfica nor Ajax registering a single point in the Champions League before tonight.
Benfica got off to the perfect start. Richard Ríos headed towards goal from a corner, bringing a fine reflex save out of Vítezslav Jaros, but the ball fell to left-back Samuel Dahl who fired in a terrific volley that arrowed into the top corner of the net. Six minutes gone, Ajax 0-1 Benfica.
Benfica continued to hold the ascendency, Pavlidis rifling a shot into the side-netting after a good move.
Ajax were clearly a team shot of confidence. A Davy Klasssen effort comfortably saved by Trubin was the only goal attempt worthy of note by the hosts in the first half.
Ajax fight back
The second half was a different story with Ajax gradually notching up the pressure against a Benfica team that increasingly retreated towards their own goal.
Trubin tipped Bounida’s shot over the bar in the 50th minute, and soon afterwards Klaassen missed a golden opportunity to equalise when a neat one-touch combination in the box with Wout Weghorst gave the Ajax captain a clear sight at goal, only for him to wastefully scuff his shot wide with only Trubin to beat.
Ajax were now camped in the Benfica half, but the Portuguese side produced a dangerous counter-attack in the 72nd minute, Amar Dedic’s low shot well saved by Jaros.
The introduction of the lively Oscar Gloukh caused more problems for Benfica’s defence as the hosts went into all-out attack mode, and only a sharp save by Trubin denied the Israeli an equaliser.
Benfica shut up shop and kill the game
Mourinho had seen enough, bringing on Tomás Araújo for a five-man defence for the final minutes, and the substitution proved effective, the extra numbers at the back stunting Ajax’s momentum.
The game was made safe in the 90th minute when Araújo won the ball deep in his own half, the ball fell to Leandro Barreiro who played a fine one-two with Fredrik Aursnes, the Norwegian threading a peach of a pass into the path of Barreiro who outran his marker and lashed a thunderous finish into the roof of the net with his left foot.
Manu Silva comeback
There was more good news for Benfica late on as Manu Silva made his first appearance in almost a year as he takes the first steps towards regaining match fitness after recovering from his ACL injury.
With Napoli (home), Juventus (away) and Real Madrid (home) the remaining fixtures, Benfica still have a tough job on their hands to stay alive beyond the league phase. Last season, fewer than 11 points meant elimination from the competition.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen quite a few Portuguese players lay claim to the biggest prize in European football. Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe led Real Madrid to an unprecedented three straight UEFA Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018, whilst Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias helped Manchester City secure their first-ever Champions League title in 2023. And this past summer, Paris Saint-Germain got their hands on their maiden UEFA Champions League trophy thanks to the efforts of four different Portuguese players: João Neves, Gonçalo Ramos, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes.
As the UEFA Champions League returns for a captivating Matchday Five, there are more than a few Portuguese players who are worth paying attention to. Today, let’s take a look at the Portuguese players who are competing in Europe’s premier competition.
Benfica
José Mourinho made history in 2004 when he led Porto to the UEFA Champions League title – he’s since won a Champions League with Inter, a Europa League with Manchester United, and a Conference League with Roma. Today, he’s back in Portugal, where he’s seeking to guide Benfica from the cellar to the Champions League playoff spots. He’ll be counting on a number of Portuguese players from vice-captain António Silva to fellow defensive rising star Tomás Araújo, as well as a number of promising homegrown talents like João Veloso, João Rego, Rodrigo Rego, Henrique Araújo and Samu Soares, as they look to vanquish a disastrous start that sees them sitting third in Liga Portugal and 35th in the Champions League table.
Juventus
Juventus have two Portuguese players in their squad. João Mário is plying his trade in Turin after arriving in a swap deal for fellow Portuguese fullback Alberto Costa, and he’s now linking up with his fellow Porto academy graduate Francisco Conceição. Similarly to other players like Rayan Cherki, Carlos Alberto Pintinho, and Ángel Di María, Conceição has a penchant for the extraordinary and is capable of generating danger at a moment’s notice with his quick changes of direction and elusive dribbling, and he looks set to be included in next summer’s Portugal squad in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Manchester City
If Manchester City are the most successful English team of the past decade, it’s thanks to their Portuguese influence. Whilst ex-Benfica stars Ederson and João Cancelo are no longer there, City are still reaping the rewards of two veteran cogs in Bernardo Silva (captain) and Rúben Dias (vice-captain). Silva and Dias are proving instrumental as the team’s midfield playmaker and defensive talisman, but as for Matheus Nunes, he’s gone from midfield metronome at Sporting and Wolves to the team’s right-back following the exit of Kyle Walker, and he’s pushing Cancelo and Nélson Semedo for Portugal’s starting right-back position.
Borussia Dortmund
Six years after breaking onto the scene for Porto and shattering a number of records, it’s fair to say that Fábio Silva hasn’t lived up to the hype. After struggling to convince following a club-record £35 million move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Silva bounced around from Anderlecht to PSV Eindhoven to Rangers before being loaned out to Las Palmas, where he scored 10 goals in 25 appearances. His impressive form in the Canary Islands led to a maiden Portugal cap as well as a permanent transfer to Borussia Dortmund. So far, however, Silva’s development has been limited by an adductor injury as well as the stellar form of Serhou Guirassy up top.
Chelsea
As opposed to summer arrival Dário Essugo, who is yet to play for Chelsea since making his debut vs. Palmeiras, one Portuguese player who is making his mark for the Blues is Pedro Neto. Neto emerged as one of the deadliest wingers outside of the Premier League’s top six with Wolves before making the move to Chelsea in 2024, where he initially struggled for consistency. However, after a world-class summer which saw him lead Portugal to victory in the UEFA Nations League Finals and spearhead Chelsea to glory in the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup, Neto has been able to build on this momentum and emerge as a decisive figure in Enzo Maresca’s attack as well as a regular contributor in the final third.
Kairat Almaty
Kairat Almaty made history by making it through four rounds of qualifying and becoming the first Kazakh team in a decade in the main draw of the UEFA Champions League. And after suffering blowout defeats to Sporting and Real Madrid, they’ve rebounded with a draw vs. Pafos and a narrow 2-1 defeat at Inter. Kairat are punching above their weight thanks to two Portuguese players, both of whom have enjoyed circuitous paths. Having plied his trade in Portugal’s lower leagues and Luxembourgian side Differdange, Jorginho has emerged as a key figure at the attacking midfield role since joining in January, whilst Luís Mata has gone from Porto’s B team to sojourns in Spain and Poland before eventually excelling at left-back for Kairat since his July arrival.
Pafos
Pafos are walking on sunshine thanks to their Portuguese gems like Pedro ‘Pêpê’ Rodrigues, who led them to their first-ever title in their 10-year history with the 2024 Cypriot Cup, and Domingos Quina, who proved exceptional in Pafos’ league title last summer. And whilst Alexandre Brito has struggled for minutes since joining from Sporting on loan, there are a number of Pafos players who, despite not representing the Seleção, have ample experience in Portuguese football, such as João Correia, Anderson Silva, Bruno Langa, and David Luiz. Currently 20th in the table, Pafos currently boast a superior Champions League record to the likes of Napoli, Juventus and Marseille.
Olympiacos
Pafos may have a strong Portuguese influence, but they don’t even lay a finger on Olympiacos in this regard. Chiquinho, Daniel Podence and Gelson Martins have formed a fearsome attacking trio behind Moroccan centre-forward Ayoub El Kaabi, whilst Diogo Nascimento has emerged as a vital cog in midfield following his summer arrival from Vizela. And whilst Rúben Vezo has been phased out of the team, one Portuguese defender who is playing a big role in the backline is Costinha. That’s not even to mention the plethora of ex-Primeira stars like Mehdi Taremi, Bruno Onyemaechi and Roman Yaremchuk who are now plying their trade in Piraeus.
Villarreal
It has been a rollercoaster few years for Renato Veiga. After struggling for playing time at boyhood club Sporting as well as Augsburg, Veiga made the permanent move to Basel, where he helped them avoid relegation. Veiga then traded Switzerland for England, where he became a regular at Chelsea but nevertheless grew unhappy at having to play at left back instead of his preferred centre-back role. It’s why, after forcing a January loan to Juventus, Veiga departed the Blues and joined Spanish side Villarreal for a club-record £26 million, where he has emerged as a pivotal figure in central defence alongside Juan Foyth and recently Rafa Marín. Many leading Spanish football journalists like Sid Lowe and Álvaro Romeo have praised him as one of the top young defenders in Spain, and it could very well catapult him to a successful Portugal career.
Club Brugge
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that’s proven to be the case with Carlos Forbs. Born in Sintra to Guinea-Bissau parents, Forbs left for England at an early age and ascended Manchester City’s academy before making the move to Ajax in 2023. After one year in Amsterdam, Forbs joined Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he struggled to impose himself before making the move to Club Brugge. He has quickly emerged as one of the best players in Belgium thanks to his electrifying pace and sensational dribbling prowess, earning himself a maiden call-up to the Portuguese national team. And after bagging a brace and an assist in his last match vs. Barcelona, he’ll be looking to make it back-to-back Champions League matches with a goal contribution.
Sporting
Forbs will be facing off against a Sporting side that is teeming with Portuguese talent; Francisco Trincão and Pedro Gonçalves have stepped up and delivered in attack following the exit of sharpshooter Viktor Gyökeres, Rui Silva has impressed between the sticks, Gonçalo Inácio has cemented himself as a vital cog in defence, whilst João Simões has proven to be a revelation in the middle of the pitch. Even with veterans like Daniel Bragança and Nuno Santos missing out due to injury, Sporting manager Rui Borges can still count on a number of Portuguese players like Geovany Quenda, Eduardo Quaresma, Rodrigo Ribeiro, Ricardo Mangas and João Virgínia.
Bayern Munich
Out of the 23 players from Portugal’s title-winning 2016 Euro squad, only one player is still playing in the UEFA Champions League: Raphaël Guerreiro. After leading Portugal to victory, Guerreiro left France for the first time and joined Borussia Dortmund, where he emerged as one of the best left-backs in Germany before eventually making the move to Bayern Munich in 2023 on a free transfer. Having watched in despair as Bayer Leverkusen put an end to Bayern’s dynasty, Guerreiro helped the Bavarians return to the zenith of the Bundesliga last season thanks to his versatile, composed performances. And while he’s finding regular starts hard to come by, he nevertheless remains a valued performer under Vincent Kompany.
Tottenham Hotspur
Last but not least, João Palhinha is yet another Portuguese player who is looking to get his hands on the UEFA Champions League trophy. Having spearheaded Sporting to a long-awaited championship under Rúben Amorim, Palhinha established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in world football during his time at Fulham before making the move to Bayern Munich in 2024. After struggling for minutes in Germany, Palhinha has since thrived on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, where he is combining his tenacious tackling and physical brute force with a newfound prowess in the final third; he’s already grabbed as many goal contributions (7) in 19 appearances with Tottenham as he did in his 95 appearances with Sporting.
Paris Saint-Germain
Last but certainly not least, we cannot fail to mention the Portuguese contribution of the current holders of the trophy, PSG. You can make a valid argument that central midfielder Vitinha and left-back Nuno Mendes are the best players in the world in their respective positions, and Vitinha’s partner in crime in the centre of the pitch, João Neves, is not that far behind. Striker Gonçalo Ramos, a regular goal-getter despite largely being confined to a role off the bench, completes a magical quartet that not only helped the French club become European champions, but also potentially hold the key to Portugal’s World Cup aspirations next summer.
After five matches in the Europa League both Porto and Braga are in an automatic qualification position for the round of sixteen after tonight’s results completed a highly positive week for Portuguese clubs in Europe.
The draw for both the round of sixteen and the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup has been made.
