FC Porto were crowned champions of Portugal a fortnight ago, but plenty more is yet to decide, with the distribution of European places and who will get relegated having gone down to the last day of the season.
The Primeira Liga matches today are staggered into three blocks according to what's at stake.
3.30 pm - Dead rubbers
Porto v Santa Clara
Moreirense v AFS
6.00 pm - Relegation battle
Arouca v Tondela
Casa Pia v Rio Ave
Nacional v Vitória
Braga v Estrela da Amadora
AFS are relegated, but the other automatic relegation spot (17th) and the relegation/promotion playoff place (16th) are yet to be decided. Tondela currently occupy the relegation place but they have suddenly hit form (a shock 2-2 draw at Sporting followed by two successive wins) and have a chance of saving themselves. Casa Pia, Estrela da Amadora and Nacional are all fighting to avoid relegation with just three points separating the four teams battling to beat the drop.
8.30 pm - European places
Estoril v Benfica
Sporting v Gil Vicente
Famalicão v Alverca
The team finishing second will have Champions League football next season, either going directly into the league phase or into qualifying depending on other results across Europe. At the moment Sporting are second. Benfica can overtake Sporting if they beat Estoril and Sporting don't beat Gil Vicente. Any other combination of results and Sporting will finish second.
The team finishing in fifth place will go into the UEFA Conference League. As it stands, that is Famalicão. The only way this can change is if Famalicão lose at home to Alverca and Gil Vicente beat Sporting at Alvalade.
Roni Moura celebrates scoring against FC Porto (Photo:AVS Futebol SAD)
Without the weight of expectation against the hungover champions, Portugal was shocked by the most improbable scoreline of the season last weekend.
AVS Futebol SAD (abbreviated to AFS) were mathematically condemned to Liga Portugal 2 in Matchday 30 after winning just one match – the worst record of any Liga Portugal side in 92 seasons of the current league structure.
Curiously, Desportivo das Aves had previously held the record for six years. A far cry from when the defunct entity famously beat Sporting Clube de Portugal in the 2017/18 edition of the Taça de Portugal, importantly with no relation to the newly formed club also based in Vila das Aves (known as the ‘Portuguese MK Dons’ after a separation and relocation of the UD Vilafranquense entity).
Without the weight of expectation for what remained of their disastrous league campaign, and against the hungover champions, the country was shocked by the most improbable scoreline of the season.
The star of the show? Roni Moura.
The 27-year-old midfielder bagged a brace, with an especially exquisite second strike leaving Cláudio Ramos scrambling.
To honour the fallen soldiers of Liga Portugal ahead of an exciting final game week with plenty left to decide at both ends of the table, PortuGOAL’s latest Figure of the Week is awarded to an AVS player. If you’re surprised to read this, I’m equally as surprised to write it. Kevin Fernandes reports.
From São Paulo to Santo Tirso
Roni Medeiros de Moura was born in São Paulo, commencing his footballing journey as a five-year old at Brazilian giants Corinthians and representing the Timão for 20 years.
After achieving relative success at youth level, even winning silverware along the way, Roni made his senior debut for Corinthians in 2020, scoring on his debut and dedicating the goal to his brother Tupã, who had tragically died playing grassroots football.
Tupã was forced to retire upon discovering a heart condition, but his love of the game could never prevent him from playing. Roni revealed that he had promised Tupã in hospital that he would become a professional football and take care of their family. With an incredible strike, 19-year-old Roni kept his promise and announced himself to Brazilian football.
The story of Roni is one of immense hardship and struggle, as despite making over 100 appearances for Corinthians and for various reasons, it became increasingly difficult to follow that debut performance.
The pressures of the professional game
In 2025 and after a loan spell at Atlético Goianiense, Roni faced Corinthians as a Mirassol player, recounting: “The fans have always supported me. There was a difficult period when I suffered a lot. I couldn’t even sleep properly and was heavily criticised, but I’ve also had some really good times. The fans have always given me strength during the tough times, and I’ve had some happy moments here too.”
After receiving limited minutes for the Brasileirão revelation side of 2025, Roni left his beloved São Paulo and headed to the other side of the Atlantic to the Portuguese municipality of Santo Tirso, as AVS paid over 700 thousand euros for his services in January, despite relegation seeming inevitable.
Rugged Roni
The hard-working midfielder has helped to revolutionise AVS. For the overwhelming majority of the season, the team were disorganised, disjointed and overly dependent on lacklustre and overambitious individualised transitional play.
With Roni playing as a deep-lying organiser, AVS look more capable and controlled in possession while the ball-winners energy importantly secures João Henriques’ side defensively.
Players like Roni Moura make teams harder to beat, while also demonstrating that mentality is vital to succeed in this cut-throat world (not limited to football).
Kudos to the latest PortuGOAL Figure of the Week as success may await him in Liga Portugal 2.
All the signs point to José Mourinho ending his second spell at Benfica after the final match of the season at Estoril this coming weekend.
News about a possible return to Real Madrid has dominated the football agenda in both Portugal and Spain over the past few days, and Mourinho’s post-match press conference after Benfica’s 2-2 draw against Braga on Monday only added to the feeling his time at the Estádio da Luz was up.
“It’s a squad I had a lot of fun with,” said Mourinho. “I always went to training happy to be with them, and I always left training happy with the work we had done. It’s a good group of men.”
Before the Braga match, PortuGOAL carried out an informal vox pop with fans at the stadium, asking Benfiquistas what they would like to happen, and they thought would happen in relation to Portugal’s most successful ever coach and the Lisbon giants. Listen to and read a variety of opinions about the hot topic in Portuguese football.
Gonçalo: “I’d like him to stay for another year to be honest, but I think he’ll leave, his mind is elsewhere”
PortuGOAL: “José Mourinho? Do you think he’s leaving or staying?”
Gonçalo: “I think he’ll leave. I think he’s already with his mind elsewhere. I think he’ll try everything to get Benfica into the Champions League, then he’ll go on his way. His mind is in Real Madrid.”
PortuGOAL: “Do you think he’s done a good job here at Benfica?”
Gonçalo: “I think so, yes. I’d like him to stay for another year to be honest. Benfica need a coach like José Mourinho, a world class coach, and I’m sorry he’s going to leave. At least I believe he’ll leave.”
PortuGOAL: “If he leaves, who would you like next?”
Gonçalo: “It has to be a coach with a project. Marco Silva is a good option. Ruben Amorim is also a good option. I’d like either of these two.”
Ricardo: “The new coach? Between Marco Silva, Ruben Amorim and César Peixoto”
PortuGOAL: “Mourinho. Do you think he’s leaving or staying?”
Alfredo: “I think he’ll leave.”
PortuGOAL: “Who would you like as the next coach?”
Alfredo: “I agree with my friend. If I could choose I’d choose Ruben Amorim, because I think he’s a coach who would wear the team’s colours. He would be my choice.”
PortuGOAL: “Are all those years at Sporting a problem?!”
Alfredo: “He’ll do to Sporting what he did to Benfica, he’d be welcome.”
Duarte: “I don’t want Mourinho to stay, but I think he will”
PortuGOAL: “Do you think José Mourinho will stay or leave Benfica?”
Pedro: “I’d like him to stay.”
PortuGOAL: “You’d like him to stay, but do you think that will happen or not?”
Pedro: “It’s difficult. When Real Madrid are after him, it’s difficult to fight it.”
PortuGOAL: “Do you think he’s done a good job?”
Pedro: “In my opinion he’s done the job that was possible for a team that was not built by him.”
PortuGOAL: “So if he had another season, would it be different?”
Pedro: “In my opinion he’d have to do another season and then we can judge him better, but a full season.”
***
PortuGOAL: “Would you like José Mourinho to stay or leave?”
David: “Would I like him to stay? If it was up to me maybe Mourinho wouldn’t even have come in the first place. But maybe he deserves a second chance to do his job. But, like Pedro said, I think it’s very unlikely that he’ll stay.”
***
Paulo: “I’d like Mourinho to continue, I’d like him to do the job right from the start, with the players chosen by him, and with a pre-season planned by him. I think that could bring Benfica good results, both at domestic and international level. I’m not talking about winning the Champions League, but we’d have a chance to put in a good performance on the international stage.”
PortuGOAL: “There was a period in the season when it seemed things were clicking… that game against Real Madrid. And Benfica haven’t lost yet…”
Paulo: “In the league Benfica haven’t lost, and then there have been factors outside of football, the refereeing hasn’t been very good in Benfica’s games, which has harmed Benfica too. But yes, I think Mourinho deserves to start the season, but there you go. When competing against Real Madrid there is no chance.”
The 2025/26 season is about to end, but Benfica president Rui Costa will not be thinking about relaxing. His decisions in the coming days will have a huge bearing on the club’s immediate future, and possibly his own position at the helm of Portugal’s largest club.
Pending a medical today, Sporting have broken the domestic transfer record in Portugal to buy Uruguayan midfielder Rodrigo Zalazar from Braga. The €30 million signing is the highest transfer fee ever paid between two Portuguese clubs.
In a related deal, Braga will purchase Sporting right-back Diogo Travassos for €5.5 million.
Rodrigo Zalazar has been a huge hit at Braga since signing in 2023 (Photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
Zalazar has been subject to transfer speculation for several weeks following a brilliant season for the Warriors, with Benfica reported to be interested in bringing him to Lisbon, but instead he will play in the green and white of city rivals Sporting.
The 26-year-old attacking midfielder has scored 23 goals and provided 8 assists in 52 matches for Braga in 2025/26, making it by far the most productive season of his career.
Zalazar was born in Spain but has Uruguayan nationality, with both of his parents hailing from the South America country. His father José Zalazar was also a footballer, playing 29 times for the full Uruguay national team.
Rodrigo Zalazar began his senior career in Poland and Germany, with Braga paying just €6 million to Schalke 04 for his signature in the summer of 2023.
The purchase is likely to be the first of several made by Sporting this summer with a rebuild necessary, especially in midfield given the expected departure of captain Morten Hjulmand and Japanese teammate Hidemasa Morita, who has come to the end of his contract.
Travassos rewarded for impressive loan spells
While most Sporting fans will be excited by the capture of Zalazar, the sale of promising right-back Diogo Travassos is less consensual.
The Portugal U21 international enjoyed a fine debut season as a full professional for Estrela da Amadora last year, and has impressed even more at Moreirense this term.
An extremely attacking full-back, Travassos has scored 7 goals in 34 matches for Moreirense and is a big reason the modest northern club has enjoyed a fine season, free from any relegation worries.
Braga will pay five and half million euros for the 22-year-old, plus €1 million in potential add-ons.
Sporting CP have reclaimed second position in Liga Portugal following an entertaining 4-1 victory against Rio Ave.
Tamble Monteiro headed wide early on in Barcelos but Rio Ave persisted and took the lead in the 12th minute. Luis Guilherme lost the ball which saw Monteiro break clear and release Diogo Bezerra who steered the ball past Rui Silva.
Francisco Petrasso was fortunate to avoid a penalty after a his forearm caught Luis Suárez in the head. The striker was bleeding but wouldn’t have to wait long to exact some revenge.
Suárez got past Petrasso on the halfway line and surged into the box where he was dragged down by the centre-back. Referee João Gonçalves issued a yellow card and pointed to the penalty spot where Suárez sent Cezary Miszta the wrong way.
Sporting took the lead before the break and didn’t have to do anything to earn it. Gustavo Mancha’s back pass evaded Miszta and rolled into the net, a comical own goal.
Rio Ave went close in added time with Monteiro forcing a save from Silva, Eduardo Quaresma diverting a dangerous cross wide and Dario Spikic firing into the side netting.
The hosts’ chances were dealt a big blow in the 52nd minute when the final chapter of the Petrazzo vs Suárez sideshow. The Argentine went in late on his nemesis and Gonçalves showed no hesitation in producing a second booking.
Rui Borges introduced Geny Catamo and Geovany Quenda in the 65th minute and the Lions made it 3-1 less than 60 seconds later. Trincão cut inside from the right wing, got past Ryan Guilherme and sent a sweet strike into the bottom corner.
Guilherme picked up two bookings in the space of two minutes to reduce Rio Ave to 9 men, the second yellow a harsh call.
Sporting put the icing on the cake in the 90th minute, Maxi Araújo sending Quenda through on goal where he sent a powerful shot past Miszta.
It was a vital victory for Sporting who reclaimed second spot on the table following Benfica’s 2-2 draw against Braga. The Lions host Gil Vicente on the final matchday, José Mourinho’s side travelling to Estoril.
Sporting CP have reclaimed second position in Liga Portugal following an entertaining 4-1 victory against Rio Ave.