Braga suffered a 3-1 extra time defeat to Rangers in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg at Ibrox. Their advantage in the tie lasted two minutes in front of a raucous home crowd, James Tavernier scoring from a tight angle.

Carlos Carvalhal’s side had VAR to thank minutes later and Roofe hit the bar from a yard out, but Rangers persisted and doubled their lead before the break. Vítor Tormena was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Kemar Roofe, Tavernier burying the penalty, two bitter blows for the Portuguese club.

Braga battled hard however, squaring the tie in the 83rd minute when Iuri Medeiros' corner was headed home by David Carmo. The crowd were stunned, but regained their voice in extra time when Roofe finished from close range, Medeiros sent off four minutes later, Rangers ending the game as they started, well on top.

Benfica’s UEFA Champions League campaign is over despite earning a thrilling 3-3 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.

Down 1-0 after Ibrahima Konaté converted a corner in the 21st minute, Gonçalo Ramos equalised before half time to give the Eagles a faint chance of a remarkable comeback.

It was the Roberto Firmino show in the second half however, the Brazilian scoring two goals in 10 minutes to make it 6-2 on aggregate and end the tie.

Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Núñez scored late on to bring Benfica level on the night, but the 3-1 first leg defeat in Lisbon was their downfall as the Reds advanced to the semi-finals.

Portugal’s top four teams continued to separate themselves from the pack in Liga Bwin’s twenty-ninth round of games this weekend. Porto took another step towards wrestling the title back from Sporting, who remained six points behind after the pair both recorded victories. Benfica and Braga cemented third and fourth place respectively after wins over Belenenses SAD and Vizela.

Paços Ferreira and Santa Clara edged into the top of the table, while Portimonense and Boavista also got important victories to distance themselves from the relegation dogfight.

Speaking on the latter point, one of the biggest victors of the round in this respect was Moreirense, who upset the odds to claim a massive three points away to high fliers Gil Vicente. The team’s newly acquired Brazilian midfielder Jefferson was the hero with two fine goals, and as a result is in focus as our PortuGOAL Figure of the Week. 

• Benfica
• Tondela
• Sporting,
• FC Porto,
• Vitória de Guimarães,
• Mehdi Taremi
• Sergio Conceicao
• Darwin Nunez
• Belenenses SAD
• Pablo Sarabia

City rivals Benfica and Sporting have finalised preparations for next weekend’s derby date with a victory each, as Porto continued their pursuit of the Primeira Liga title with another win.

The Eagles were the first up in the Portuguese capital, starring with a Darwin Nuñez hat-trick that served to take down Belenenses SAD at 3-1.

Sporting mimicked the result, away to Tondela, with goals from Pablo Sarabia and Gonçalo Inácio to keep Benfica at bay and the pressure on first-placed Porto.

In Guimarães, a first-half Mehdi Taremi penalty tipped the balance in a tight result for Sérgio Conceição’s men, defeating Vitória 1-0 to reinstate a six-point lead at the top and set a new record for invincibility in the Primeira Liga at 57 games.