Portuguese Football in English
José Mourinho brings his Chelsea squad to Porto on Tuesday, amidst a certain degree of turmoil at Stamford Bridge. Is Mou losing his magic touch?
PortuGOAL writer and Chelsea supporter Paul Gellard runs the rule over how the Blues have played this season, and tells us how Mourinho is currently viewed by fans of the London club.
Benfica cut the gap to the leading duo to just two points after taking advantage of dropped points by FC Porto and Sporting this weekend.
Porto took the lead twice but were pegged back twice at Moreirense, as the match ended 2-2, while Sporting could not break down a well-organised and resolute Boavista in a goalless draw.
The Eagles continued their fine home form with a 3-0 victory over Paços de Ferreira at the Estádio da Luz.
This is the week many fans in Portugal and abroad had been waiting patiently for - the first Clássico of the 2015/16 season.
Benfica travelled north to Porto on the back of two good results. Last Friday’s 6-0 win over fellow Lisbon side, Belenenses, was followed up in midweek with a 2-0 win over Astana in the Champions League. The Benfiquistas headed to Porto in confident mood.
Porto also went into this game in reasonable form since the international break. Arouca were dispatched 3-1 in the league last week but the Portistas had to be content with a 2-2 draw at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday night in the Champions League.
They may be separated by just one point with 30 games remaining of the Liga NOS season, but you'll have a tough job explaining to anyone connected with FC Porto and Benfica that tomorrow's clássico will not be bristling with the burning intensity this fixture has come to embody in recent years.
The latest meeting between the two sides that have dominated the Portuguese championship over the past decade will be particularly testing for three men: the two coaches and Porto right-back Maxi Pereira, who controversially swapped the Red shirt for the Blue and White stripes after almost a decade of outstanding service at Benfica.
The match is a sell-out, as one would expect. Victory for either side could have a significant effect on the rest of the Liga title race, even coming at this nascent phase of the season.
Braga enjoyed a perfect start to their Europa League campaign as a Rafa Silva goal gave the Arsenalistas a 1-0 win against Slovan Liberec in the Czech Republic.
Belenenses also prospered on foreign soils, drawing 0-0 at Polish champions Lech Poznan, and Sá Pinto's men were unlucky not to come away with a victory after hitting the woodwork twice.
It was a different story at the Alvalade as a 2nd-string Sporting side fell to a 3-1 defeat against Russian outfit Lokomotiv Moscow.
