Portuguese Football in English
Benfica and Porto learned of their European fates after the Champions League and Europa League draws took place in Nyon today.
Porto were handed a tough draw in the Champions League quarter-finals after they eliminated Roma in the round of 16. Sergio Conceição’s side will take on Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool in the quarter-finals once again.
It will be tough for Benfica too, who face Eintracht Frankfurt - and some familiar faces - after eliminating Dinamo Zagreb last night.
Benfica will be in Friday’s Europa League draw after beating Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in Lisbon to reach the last eight thanks to fine goals from well-struck shots by Jonas, Ferro and Grimaldo. It was also a great night for former Benfica favourite Gonçalo Guedes, who struck a dramatic late goal to earn Valencia a place in the last eight of the competition.
In terms of other Portuguese involvement, it was a disappointing night for Daniel Carriço and André Silva as 5-time Europa League winners Sevilla crashed out in Prague, while Gonçalo Paciência’s Frankfurt eliminated Cédric Soares’ Inter and Napoli, with Mário Rui, went through at the expense of Salzburg.
Week 25 of Liga NOS produced a surprise at the top of the table as the title race heated up further, Porto moving level on points with Benfica after the latter threw away a 2-0 lead to draw with Belenenses.
Down at the bottom of the table the strugglers continued to struggle, Feirense look doomed at this point but the remaining two relegation slots still very much up for grabs. Marítimo took a massive step away from danger though with a stunning win over Moreirense, inspired by PortuGOAL Figure of the Week Joel Tagueu.
Benfica surrendered a two-point advantage at the top of the table after a 2-2 draw at home to Belenenses enabled FC Porto to draw level on the 60-point-mark alongside the Eagles.
The Dragons were victorious in their away trip to Feirense, coming back from a goal down to win 2-1, with head-to-head results keeping Benfica on top of the two-way tussle for the Primeira Liga title.
In the race for third place, a first-half strike from Ricardo Horta was enough to give Sporting de Braga a crucial 1-0 triumph against their Minho rivals Vitória de Guimarães, with Sporting following up that win with late drama in a 2-1 victory away to Boavista, last Saturday.
As always, PortuGOAL rounds up all of the goal-action at the top of the Primeira Liga table.
There were differing fortunes for Portugal’s two remaining representatives in Europe in a memorable midweek of European club competition action. After Porto’s thrilling victory over Roma, Benfica turned in a disappointing display to lose 1-0 in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb, also losing in-form striker Seferovic to injury.
Elsewhere, Diogo Dalot was a central figure as Manchester United produced a remarkable comeback to beat Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final tie and advance to the last eight. Meanwhile, the Champions League said goodbye to Raphaël Guerreiro and Borussia Dortmund, while Gonçalo Guedes, Mário Rui, Cédric Soares and Gonçalo Paciência were all in action in the Europa League.
