Portuguese Football in English
The “game of the year” happened in Portugal this weekend in Lisbon’s lowest division. Amadora's CD Estrela took on CF Os Belenenses at the Estádio José Gomes in a game that harked back to a simpler time in football.
The match finished a goalless draw but the meaning of this game went much further than the final result.
The first Liga NOS round of 2019 didn’t bring too many goals but rather a number of nail-biting encounters that saw a couple of expected victors in Porto, Sporting and Braga, as well as unlikely defeats for Santa Clara and Benfica at the hands of Tondela and Portimonense respectively.
This edition of Figure of the Week though focuses on a player who struck two important goals to down Rio Ave on Wednesday night, as Moreirense continued their quietly impressive season, Heriberto Tavares their star man in Vila do Conde.
With the festivities firmly behind us, Primeira Liga football kicked off a jam-packed January for our Portuguese clubs with a quick midweek round of league fixtures, delivering the shocks early with a 2-0 defeat for ten-man Benfica against Portimonense that spelled the end for Rui Vitória at the Luz following his departure on Wednesday night.
FC Porto appreciated the debacle, increasing their lead at the top of the table to five points with a narrow 1-0 win versus Desportivo das Aves after Sporting, now second, managed to defeat Belenenses 2-1 at home.
Also back to winning ways and able to overtake Benfica were Sporting de Braga, who welcomed Marítimo to the Estádio Municipal before dispatching the Madeiran outfit with a 2-0 score-line, subsequently claiming third place. Here's a wrap of the latest action the top of the Liga NOS table.
Benfica today announced that Rui Vitória’s contract has been terminated. The 48-year-old coach had been under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following a string of poor performances. The 2-0 defeat against Portimonense yesterday proved the last straw.
An announcement on the Benfica website stated that “Benfica has reached agreement with the coach Rui Vitória to rescind his contract with immediate effect,” before going on to thank the tactician for his service. Benfica B coach Bruno Lage takes charge of the first team until a replacement is appointed.
How the change will affect Benfica’s chances of lifting silverware this season remains to be seen. The Eagles are still in contention in four competitions and punters taking advantage of Betfred promo code 2019 to wager on glory for Benfica come May will be looking for a marked improvement in the coming weeks.
The attentions of most football fans around the world at this time of year traditionally turn to England’s Premier League and the frenetic festive schedule of matches. Therefore, it went almost unnoticed and largely unreported that between the Christmas and New Year celebrations, FC Porto made history upon beating Belenenses 2-1 on Sunday evening in the Taça da Liga (Portuguese League Cup).
It was Porto’s 16th successive victory in all competitions, setting a new club record.
Doing something that had never been done in the club’s previous 125 years of existence is further proof of the remarkable job Sérgio Conceição has done since taking over at the Estádio do Dragão a year and a half ago.
