Portuguese Football in English
Benfica 0-1 FC Porto
FC Porto have returned to the top of the Primeira Liga table after a late Héctor Herrera goal powered the Dragons past Benfica with a 1-0 victory at the Estádio da Luz, this evening.
The two title contenders looked poised for a share of the spoils before the Mexican's strike from range stole the show in the 90th minute, moving the Dragons back above second-placed Benfica with a two-point lead.
The drama of Week 29 in Liga NOS was primarily reserved for off-the-field events as Sporting fell into near complete meltdown with a very public spat between the players and club president Bruno de Carvalho.
They recovered of sorts to ultimately win their game against Paços Ferreira, while Porto also kept up their title challenge with a straightforward win over Aves.
However, champions Benfica remain on top of the league with a 2-1 victory at Vitória Setúbal, albeit far from an easy one relying on a stoppage time penalty to claim the three points. The star man on the day, and PortuGOAL’s Figure of the Week, was two-goal hero Raúl Jiménez.
The recent change of scenery at the top of the Primeira Liga saw Benfica come out at the Estádio do Bonfim at the weekend looking to firm up their bid to secure a fifth straight league title from the lofty heights of first place.
In Jonas' absence, Rui Vitória's men required a late Raúl Jiménez penalty to do so, however, with a 2-1 victory away to Vitória de Setúbal keeping FC Porto a point's distance from the top of the table, following their 2-0 win versus Desportivo das Aves.
Last in action were Sporting, dipped into a very public dispute between players and its club president, Bruno de Carvalho, but the club's key stars still had some energy to level at Paços de Ferreira, who were defeated by a 2-0 scoreline at the Alvalade.
Despite a spirited performance, Sporting lost 2-0 to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final last night in the Spanish capital. Losing somewhat unluckily to the tournament favourites in the away leg should not be seen as a disaster.
However, what has transpired in less than 24 hours since the final whistle blew at the Wanda Metroplitano has thrown the Lisbon club into complete turmoil.
Sporting’s firebrand president Bruno de Carvalho took to Facebook to vent his frustration shortly after the match, singling out several members of the team for heavy criticism. Today the players responded – also via the social networks – and the upshot is that 18 of the first-team squad have been served immediate suspensions. According to the Portuguese press, the B-team will be used in Sporting’s league game at home to Paços de Ferreira on Sunday.
And so it is that we’ve reached the fifth and final part of PortuGOAL’s Campeonato de Portugal Prio review.
In keeping with order, that takes us neatly onto Série E and what has been the story of domination for one club. Primeira Liga mainstays of yesteryear, Farense, are out on their own at the top, although their season has recently been tainted by tragedy.
