Portuguese Football in English
Portugal’s “big four” teams dominate the country’s sporting headlines year on year.
So we thought we would compose the Liga NOS 2021/22 team of the season made up of players exclusively outside of that quartet, highlighting the many exceptional performers up and down the country during the campaign.
Here is the PortuGOAL effort, going for an attacking 4-4-2 formation.
It was a very tough pick. Let us know your own versions in the comments below.
Braga 2-0 Benfica
Sporting de Braga have won the Taça de Portugal for the third time in their history after defeating nine-man Benfica 2-0 in Coimbra, this Sunday.
The Eagles got the showpiece off on the wrong foot following Helton Leite’s 17th-minute dismissal, facilitating the Arsenalistas’ route to the game’s first goal via Lucas Piazón.
Braga doubled their advantage late on in the second half through Ricardo Horta, steering them clear against an oft-frustrated Benfica, who’d end the clash reduced to nine men after a tempestuous end-of-game brawl.
The curtain fell on the 2020/21 Liga NOS season yesterday in a jam-packed day of matches. Matters at the top of the table were already done and dusted so the attention was largely on the middling and lower areas of the league.
In the former category Santa Clara achieved a European place, leapfrogging Vitória Guimarães who came up short against Benfica.
The real drama was in the relegation battle though with four sides battling the drop. Farense ultimately joined Nacional in descending to the second tier, with Portimonense surviving and Rio Ave finishing in the play off spot.
The fourth side in question was Boavista and they dramatically survived the drop in a terrific comeback victory. The hero of the hour was substitute Yusupha Njie, his goals securing survival and also his status as the final PortuGOAL Figure of the Week of the campaign.
Big Three close out season with convincing wins
Santa Clara have guaranteed European football for the first time in their history after qualifying for the Conference League with a 4-0 victory over Farense, relegating the men from Faro on the final day of the Primeira Liga season.
The side from Azores took full advantage of Vitória de Guimarães’ 3-1 defeat to Benfica to leapfrog them into 6th place with a comprehensive win on Wednesday night, gluing Farense to 17th place.
In the free-for-all for safety, Rio Ave left it late to defeat the relegated Nacional 2-1, but will have to contend with a relegation/promotion play-off against either Arouca or Vizela from the Liga Pro, after Boavista secured their stay with a 2-1 win over Gil Vicente and Portimonense held Sporting de Braga to a goalless draw.
Elsewhere, the Primeira Liga the champions, Sporting, put on a show at the Alvalade with a 5-1 triumph against Marítimo, but not before FC Porto signed out by putting four last Belenenses at the Dragão.
The penultimate round of Liga NOS 2020/21 saw league champions Sporting’s invincibility come to an end at the hands of rivals Benfica in a thrilling Lisbon derby. The Eagles’ win was not enough to stop Porto from claiming a 2nd place finish though, a 3-0 win over Rio Ave compounding their opponent’s relegation worries.
Marítimo rubber-stamped their top flight status for next year with a draw against Vitória Guimarães, while Boavista and Farense boosted their chances of doing the same on the final day of the season, narrow triumphs against Portimonense and Tondela respectively keeping their hopes alive.
One side that has found themselves comfortably distant from the scrap at the bottom has been Santa Clara, who continued their fine season with a 2-0 win over Belenenses SAD. Few doubts about their star man this weekend, as PortuGOAL Figure of the Week Carlos Júnior fired his team to success once more on Sunday afternoon.
