Barcelona 0-0 Benfica

Benfica put in a fine performance to earn a goalless draw against Barcelona in a match played under torrential rain in Catalonia yesterday.

Despite the lack of goals there was no lack of excitement. Each team had a goal ruled out on marginal decisions, both goalkeepers made fine saves, and Benfica substitute Haris Seferovic missed a glaring opportunity in the final seconds to seal a historic win for the Eagles. 

Benfica go into the final match in Group E against Dynamo Kiev in Lisbon with their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League very much alive, although they need a little bit of help from Bayern Munich. 

The last two winners of the Primeira Liga title won the competition by five points but this season could well see the race go right down to the final day.

After Sporting shattered years of duopoly between Benfica and FC Porto by winning the league last season, it looks like a three-horse race once again for the Portuguese crown, and with just one point separating Portugal’s “Big Three” after 11 games. Everything points to this season being one to remember. 

With the final international break of 2021 coming up this weekend it meant Portugal’s Liga Bwin action took a breather once more but only after an exhilarating eleventh round of matches. Boavista and Famalicao set the tone on Friday night, playing out a thrilling 5-2 victory for the latter as they registered only their second win of the campaign.

Tondela vs Marítimo also brought goals aplenty, a 4-2 win for the home side enough to see them move into the top half of the table. 

Elsewhere the title race continues to remain as tight as ever. Defending champions Sporting overcame Paços Ferreira, while the superb Luis Díaz inspired Porto in defeating struggling Santa Clara. 

Benfica kept in touch with their great rivals though with a thrashing of a previously in-form Braga side. Brazilian winger Éverton was the star of the show, and is in focus as our PortuGOAL Figure of the Week.  

• Benfica
• Sporting,
• FC Porto,
• Sporting de Braga,
• Rafa Silva
• Luis Diaz
• Pacos de Ferreira
• Santa Clara
• Everton Cebolinha
• Darwin Nunez
• Pedro Goncalves
• Goncalo Inacio

Benfica have bounced back from a run of two league games without winning by thrashing Sporting de Braga 6-1 at the Estádio da Luz, this Sunday.

The Eagles raced to a 1-0 lead via Alex Grimaldo before a Ricardo Horta equaliser, but a huge finish to the first half saw Jorge Jesus’ men clock up three goals just before the interval, setting up an advantage that would eventually tally up to a 6-1 victory.

Benfica's win came in response to FC Porto keeping it routine in their trip to the Azores, defeating Santa Clara 3-0 with a Luis Díaz brace and Sergio Oliveira opener to secure top spot going into the international break.

Sporting followed their rivals and matched their points total of 29 with a hard-fought 2-0 win away to Paços de Ferreira, courtesy of Gonçalo Inácio and Pedro Gonçalves finishes.