Portuguese Football in English
Erison Danilo celebated his first start in the Primeira Liga by firing Estoril to a 1-0 victory in Vizela.
Milutin Osmajic missed a chance the equalise after being given a soft penalty, the hosts' task made tougher when Tomás Silva was sent off in the 73rd minute.
Vizela battled hard with 10 men, Alexander Schmidt spurning a great chance in added time but failing to beat Dani Figueira from close range.
Boavista have climbed up to fourth in the Primeira Liga table after a 2-1 turnaround away to nine-man Arouca pushed them above high-flying Portimonense on goal difference.
The Black Panthers were caught a goal down in an ill-tempered clash against Arouca before goals from Vincent Sasso and Martim Tavares made it four wins from six for Petit’s men.
At the very top, Benfica prolonged their run of rich form by maintaining the 100% record that’s stapled them to the top-spot, with Famalicão becoming the latest victims of Roger Schmidt’s outfit in a 1-0 victory for the Eagles.
Marítimo, however, continue to navigate through a very different reality following a sixth consecutive loss, dealt by Gil Vicente in a 2-1 home defeat that keeps the Madeira outfit rooted to the bottom of the table.
The Portuguese Primeira Liga has been going strong for six round, and Benfica’s perfect 6/6 record has left the last two winners of the championship title already playing catchup. Indeed, Roger Schmidt’s side have won 11 out of 11 games in all competitions, with Eagles fans excited at what they see as a real prospect of ending a three-year trophy drought.
Reigning champions Porto are in third, while 2020/21 winners Sporting are languishing in seventh place, albeit having picked up form in recent weeks.
And to make things even more interesting, Braga appear set on getting amongst the traditional title contenders. The Arsenalistas have arguably been playing the best football seen in Portugal this season, and after 5 successive wins Artur Jorge’s team are just two points behind Benfica.
Braga suffered a late scare in Vila do Conde, holding on to secure a 3-2 victory against Rio Ave to make it six straight wins.
Goals to Al Musrati and Iuri Medeiros established a 2-0 half-time lead and the three points seemed assured when Ricardo Horta made it 3-0 in the 69th minute.
The Vilacondenses produced a late rally with Emmanuel Boateng and Aziz Yakubu scoring in the final 10 minutes, setting up a grandstand finish but the hosts leaving their fightback too late.
PortuGOAL's Matthew Marshall reports from Estádio dos Arcos
A fascinating subplot underpins the Champions League Group D encounter between Sporting Clube de Portugal and Tottenham Hotspur in Lisbon on Tuesday evening.
Eric Dier learned his trade and began his career at Sporting before signing for Spurs and going on to become a full England international. Marcus Edwards made the reverse journey. Highly rated as a youth player at the London outfit, Edwards’ rise to fame has not been as smooth as Dier’s, but the twinkle-toed forward is now thriving in the Portuguese capital.
