‘Good things come to those who wait’. It is the fitting saying for Francisco Trincão. His recent intervention for the Portugal national team saw his first goal contributions in his ten appearances in Sunday’s victory over Denmark, made extra special given that the match was played in his home stadium of the José Alvalade.

Few countries boast the undeniable talent of the Portugal squad. However, it was the 25-year-old with 108 official minutes for Portugal – merely 32 minutes in the last four years – who was the difference-maker against the Danes.

PortuGOAL’s Figure of the Week changed the destiny of this encounter with two excellently taken finishes leaving Kasper Schmeichel helpless. Kevin Fernandes reports. 

Evángelos ‘Vangelis’ Pavlidis is the current prime example of the perils of judging centre-forwards purely on output, in addition to the impatience of certain stakeholders when players are adjusting to new surroundings.

The naysayers were out in droves in the first half of the season, insisting the Greek striker had been the latest flop bought by Benfica, but since the turn of the year his goal record has matched the fine level of play he has demonstrated ever since signing for the Lisbon club last summer. Benfica coach Bruno Lage never lost his belief in the former AZ Alkmaar forward and has proved that patience is a virtue.

In his last 15 matches, Pavlidis has bagged 13 goals, including an unforgettable, unexpected hat-trick against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League during the league phase. After another strong goal-scoring display on Sunday, Vangelis Pavlidis is this week’s PortuGOAL Figure of the Week. Kevin Fernandes reports. 

How the tables have turned in the most exciting competition in Portugal. Since the last report, everything has changed in the battle for promotion to the main stage of Portuguese football. And what a battle awaits us!

Just four points separate 7 teams from 2nd to 8th in the standings, with all of them legitimate contenders to finish runners-up in Liga II and earn automatic promotion to the Primeira Liga, or secure third to earn themselves a shot at promotion through the playoff. 

The main focus has to be Vizela. After a really poor start of the season for the Vizelenses, they have been catching up. Slowly, the performances improved. A new coach arrived, a new manager that was thrown out of Marítimo, Fábio Pereira. Since then: twelve matches played, zero losses. That is a run to be proud of. 

Benfica won an entertaining encounter 3-2 against Rio Ave in Vila do Conde this evening.

For over an hour Benfica looked on course for a straightforward victory. Showing little sign of tiredness after their Champions League exit at Barcelona in midweek, the Eagles built a well-merited 2-0 lead thanks to a stunning long-range strike from Orkun Kökçü and a Vangelis Pavlidis penalty.

But Brandon Aguilera gave the home team hope with a deflected free kick, and a crass mistake by Florentino Luís was taken advantage of by Clayton Silva to make it 2-2 with 15 minutes remaining.

Benfica did not panic though, and a superb team move ended with Kerem Aktürkoglu netting the winner soon afterwards, the same player then hitting the post.

With all four of the top teams in the Primeira Liga winning this weekend, Benfica remain in second place three points behind leaders Sporting and six points ahead of Porto and Braga with a game in hand on all three rivals.