After an extended break due to internationals and continuation of this season’s Taça de Portugal, Liga Bwin returned to action at the weekend amid a busy period of matches for the majority of the country’s top flight teams.
Minho sides Braga and Vitória Guimarães continued some recent momentum with wins over Gil Vicente and Marítimo respectively, while Santa Clara and Belenenses SAD, both under new management, saw struggles continue as the pair drifted into the bottom two of the division.
The title race remains close as ever as Benfica bounced back from a shock loss in the previous gameweek, leaving it very late to overcome Vizela. Sporting stayed in touch with a narrow victory of their own.
Porto too remained well in the hunt thanks to a stunning individual performance from their number nine. This edition of the PortuGOAL Figure of the Week was a very easy choice, as Mehdi Taremi’s predatory hat-trick blew away Tondela.
Benfica have held onto the Primeira Liga top spot after Rafa Silva, with the final kick of the game, bagged a crucial 1-0 victory for the visitors away to Vizela, this Sunday.
A highly satisfying night for Portuguese clubs in the Champions League on Tuesday saw Sporting win 4-1 against Besiktas in Istanbul – the Lisbon club’s first win in Turkey – and Porto completely outplay AC Milan at the Estádio do Dragão for a 1-0 victory that did not reflect the dominance of the Dragons.
Liga Bwin concluded for an extended break this weekend with the international break on the horizon and the resumption of the Taça de Portugal featuring the entry of top flight teams to take place in a fortnight. There was no shortage of drama in proceedings as Benfica’s 100% record came to a crashing halt courtesy of a shock win for the ever-improving Portimonense.
Benfica have seen their lead at the top of the Primeira Liga shrink to one point after picking up their first loss of the season in a 1-0 home defeat to Portimonense.