Portuguese Football in English
On Thursday Benfica resume their Europa League campaign as the Liga NOS leaders welcome German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt to the Portuguese capital.
What can the Lisbon club expect from Eintracht? Germany-based PortuGOAL reporter Matthew Marshall gives us the lowdown on the Bundesliga club.
Liverpool 2-0 FC Porto
Porto’s English hoodoo struck again as two first-half goals at Anfield gave Liverpool victory in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final.
In 19 visits to England in European competition, Porto have never won, losing 16 and drawing 3 matches. Had Moussa Marega been sharper in front of goal the Dragons could have brought an all-important away goal back to Portugal, but coach Sérgio Conceição insists the tie is far from over.
Tondela launched a stunning comeback to beat Portimonense last night to conclude Liga NOS week 28, a round of matches that saw the battles at both the top and bottom of the division tighten up as we enter the final stretch of the season.
The race for 5th intensified too as both Moreirense and Vitória Guimarães won, while Sporting took advantage of Braga’s recent slump to move clear in 3rd. At the top, Porto won the opening match of the round before Benfica reclaimed 1st place after a Haris Seferović-inspired victory over struggling Feirense.
Just over twelve months ago, Liverpool battered Porto at the Estadio do Dragᾶo during their thrilling Champions League run that saw them finish runners-up to Real Madrid. Porto was forced to recover quickly, as they were in a title race of their own that would require absolute focus. As they get ready to meet again, both clubs are at crucial points of their European and domestic campaigns.
Both managers will claim that their side is stronger this year than when the two clubs met in 2018. Porto now boast a pair of Real Madrid defenders, one a central defender who donned the Madrid shirt for a decade in Pepe and a future centre-back in Eder Militão. Apart from right-back Ricardo Pereira moving on to the English Premier League, Sergio Conceição was able to retain most of his title winning squad from a year ago.
As for Liverpool, not only has the English club kept onto most of the squad that brought them to the Champions League final, but they were able to add several key midfielders to add to their strength and depth.
PortuGOAL previews this week’s rematch in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Benfica and FC Porto have extended their tug-of-war at the top of the Primeira Liga table after both sides emerged victorious in Matchday 28, taking the leading points total up to 69.
The Dragons ramped up the pressure on Friday night with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Boavista, as Brazilian duo Tiquinho Soares and Otávio produced the goods.
Benfica’s reply came on Sunday evening, coming from a goal behind to defeat relegation-bound Feirense 4-1 away from home and return to the summit of the table via head-to-head results.
Elsewhere, a 1-0 defeat for Braga against Moreirense offered Sporting the chance to go three points clear of Abel Ferreira’s fourth-placed side in the penultimate fixture of the week, doing so with a 3-0 victory at home against Rio Ave. PortuGOAL, as always, brings you the latest goings-on at the top of the Liga NOS.
