Portuguese Football in English
Benfica snapped out of a 4-match winless run by beating Estoril 1-0 in Lisbon this afternoon to maintain their 4-point buffer at the top the table.
Captain Nicolás Otamendi’s header from a brilliant David Neres assist just before the break proved enough to give the Eagles a deserved victory.
Porto reduced Benfica’s lead in the Primeira Liga to one point after a comfortable 2-0 win in Paços de Ferreira.
The Dragons were the better team in the first half and went into the break with a man advantage after Jordan Holsgrove picked up two yellow cards in added time.
Porto stepped on the gas at Estádio da Capital do Móvel, Mehdi Taremi converting a penalty after André Franco drew a foul in the 18-yard box.
Two substitutes combined to put the game to bed in the 83rd minute, Danny Namaso squaring the ball to Toni Martínez who finished into an empty net.
Sérgio Conceição’s side reclaimed second spot in the Primeira Liga, moving ahead of Braga and reducing Benfica's lead to one point before the Eagles host Estoril at Estádio da Luz.
Braga reclaimed second spot in the Primeira Liga after a deserved 1-0 win against Casa Pia at Estádio Nacional.
Ricardo Horta finished off a slick team move in the 54th minute, his second match winner in five days.
The Warriors were continually thwarted by Ricardo Batista before settling for another important three points.
Artur Jorge’s side jump over Porto and sit three points behind Benfica, the Dragons travelling to Paços de Ferreira on Saturday and the Eagles hosting Estoril on Sunday.
So the title race is back on then! Well at least that’s what we’ve been telling ourselves here at Long Ball Futebol. Last weekend was filled with massive results affecting not only the title race but also the race for Europe and the relegation scrap.
It’s set this week up nicely for what could be an ever more exciting weekend of football. PortuGOAL previews the weekend action.
Sporting more than matched Juventus in their Europa League quarter-final, but a series of glaring misses over the two legs meant the positive performances counted for nothing as the Italian team progressed to the last four.
In front of a packed crowd in Lisbon tonight, an early goal from Adrien Rabiot gave Juventus a 2-0 aggregate lead, but Sporting soon hit back through a Marcus Edwards penalty.
In a hard-fought match of few chances, the hosts came closest to scoring again in the second half as Ricardo Esgaio and Sebastián Coates blazed extremely presentable chances over the bar.
