Martim Fernandes tested Robin Olsen early on before a howler from Jakub Kiwior went unpunished, the defender passing the ball straight to Salifou Soumah before blocking the Guinean’s goal bound shot.
Francesco Farioli’s side soon exerted their authority, Olsen diverting Borja Sainz’s shot wide before the goalkeeper did well to deny Samu who had beat the offside trap and latched onto Pepê’s pass.
The Swedish side couldn’t hang on with the deadlock broken in the 30th minute. Rodrigo Mora had been impressive and it was no surprise that he helped unlock the door, crossing to the far post where Samu rose over Busanello and headed the ball past Olsen.
Porto gifted the visitors another opportunity following a loose touch from Diogo Costa, the goalkeeper able to regather the ball with Sead Haksabanovic poised to pounce.
The Dragons dodged another bullet and doubled their advantage in the 35th minute. Sainz headed Pepê’s deflected cross to Samu, the striker doing well to spin and send the ball into the back of the net.
Mora created two more chances in added time, Froholdt heading wide and Sainz volleying over the bar.
There was little action in the second half with Farioli using the opportunity to give Mora and Samu an early shower. Olsen kept the score respectable in the closing stages, denying Froholdt, Deniz Gül and Ángel Alarcón who had gone on a long run through the middle of the pitch.
Porto’s clean sheet was stained from a free kick in the dying seconds of the game, Alberto Costa’s header deflected off the post and Francisco Moura bundling the ball into his own net, a ridiculous comedy goal if ever there was one.
Braga won in France for the first time in their history to continue their excellent campaign in the Europa League. A superbly worked team goal in the first half finished by Pau Victor was enough for a 1-0 win over struggling Nice.
The victory moves the Warriors onto thirteen points from their six matches with games against Nottingham Forest (home) and Go Ahead Eagles (away) to come in January. Carlos Vicens’ side are therefore in with a good chance of qualifying directly for the round of sixteen without the need for a playoff.
The Portuguese outfit completely dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead in the 28th minute. Gorby won the ball on the halfway line, drove forward and passed to Victor Gómez. The Spaniard crossed low across the top of the box, striker Ouazzani cleverly dummied the ball and Pau Victor confidently stoked a low shot into the net.
Braga continued to control proceedings until the interval, but it was a different story in the second half as Nice at last began to show some spirit in front of the sparse crowd and threaten an equaliser.
Braga goalkeeper Hornicek had to be at the top of his game to deny Kevin Carlos and Isak Jansson and then prevent a late Gorby own goal, but the visitors held on at the Allianz Riviera for the three points and remain unbeaten away from home in Europe this season.
Benfica beat Napoli 2-0 in the Portuguese capital tonight in what was undoubtedly the Lisbon club’s best performance since José Mourinho returned to the Estádio da Luz dugout earlier this season.
In a whirlwind start the Eagles should have been out of sight by the 20-minute mark but had to settle for a one-goal lead at the interval courtesy of man-of-the-match Richard Ríos.
The hosts continued to boss the game in the second half, Leandro Barreiro doubling the lead and confirming the win.
Benfica move onto six points in the Champions League table to give themselves a fighting chance of making progress in the competition when they seemed dead and buried after 4 defeats in the first 4 matches. Sahir Bhojwani and Tom Kundert report from the Estádio da Luz.
Benfica come out all guns blazing against Italian champions
Benfica produced some slick passing early on involving Ivanovic and Leandro Barreiro that nearly saw them win a penalty. The referee was quick to wave it away, but it was a sign that Benfica were looking to come out on the attack.
Otamendi produced their first chance in the fifth minute, connecting with a header from a free kick that tamely ballooned over the bar.
In the 11th minute, Aursnes nearly unlocked the Napoli defence with a beautiful back heel on the counter, which linked up with Ivanovic striding down the middle of the pitch. The striker found himself one-on-one with the keeper and had plenty of time to set up his shot. It turned out to be a poor effort from the Croatian, which Milinkovic-Savic was able to push away. The first real threat from Benfica, but certainly not the last.
Aursnes then had another glorious chance in the 18th minute. An error from keeper Milinkovic-Savic fell right to the midfielder in the box. It seemed harder to miss than to score, given his position and distance from the goal, but Aursnes couldn’t make a clean connection and missed badly.
Benfica were not to be denied, though. A couple of minutes later, Ríos finally found the breakthrough. The Colombian took the initiative when a dangerous ball was sent into the box, drifting away from his marker and latching on to a ball that was floating around in the box. A light touch with his right foot saw the ball pass Napoli’s keeper, giving the home side a well-deserved lead in the 20th minute, and delighting the supporters who made it out to the Estádio da Luz.
Napoli push back
Napoli started to work their way into the match after a sluggish start. David Neres played in Nao Lang in the 27th minute for what would turn out to be Napoli’s first real opportunity. Lang made good contact with the ball from just inside the box. The shot sailed wide, but wouldn’t have counted as the attacker was ruled offside.
In the 29th minute, it was Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s turn. The winger made a smart move to give himself some room in the back post and connected with a curling cross. His header, however, bounced just wide of the goal.
McTominay, who has been one of the bright spots in Napoli’s lineup this year, joined in on the action in the 38th minute with his first opportunity. The Scotsman produced a strong header from just outside the six-yard box, but his effort drifted well over the crossbar. Napoli were knocking on the door but still hadn’t tested Trubin.
Otamendi responded just before the half with a strike that, unfortunately for Benfica, was powered over the bar.
Napoli would’ve been looking to rebound in the second half after failing to muster a shot on target, but it turned out to be Benfica who would once again find the net. Within minutes of the restart, Barreiro recorded his first CL goal of the campaign. The Luxembourgish international, who was tasked with accompanying Ivanovic up front, was able to get on the end of a low ball from Ríos, and the faintest of touches was enough for the ball to slowly steer past Milinkovic-Savic for Benfica’s second. It was the perfect start to the second half for Mourinho and his men.
The pressure was growing on Napoli, and the Italian side picked up the pace and started pushing men forward. Mourinho’s side, however, looked content to hold on to the two-goal cushion, and an organised back four that was supported by midfielders Enzo Barrenechea and Ríos continued to frustrate the visitors. Napoli’s passing and fluidity improved as the match progressed, but they struggled to find that final piece of magic to unlock Benfica’s defence.
Neres’ long-range left-footed shot in the 70th minute was well handled by Trubin, who casually tipped it over the bar for a corner.
Mourinho brings on the reinforcements
In the 76th minute, Mourinho finally turned to his bench with Vangelis Pavlidis and António SIlva making their way onto the pitch in place of Ivanovic and Sudakov, a move that clearly signalled the manager’s intent to shut up shop over the final 15 minutes.
Pavlidis nearly made an immediate impact, lashing a low shot that forced a good save. It would have been the perfect finish to a well-coordinated counterattack from Benfica.
The Greek forward nearly broke through again after a well-placed through ball saw the keeper forced off his line. Pavlidis was able to turn and face the goal, but his attempt to chip the stopper was well saved.
There was plenty of stoppage time due to a series of injuries and cards, but Benfica were able to close out the match and retain a clean sheet. The 2-0 scoreline was impressive against the reigning Italian champions, but in all honesty, the Eagles could have had three or four on the night. Overall, this was Benfica’s best performance of the season, and their most complete performance of the Mourinho era.
Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin, Amar Dedic, Nicolás Otamendi, Tomás Araújo, Samuel Dahl, Enzo Barrenechea, Georgiy Sudakov (António Silva, 76’), Leandro Barreiro (José Neto, 90’), Richard Ríos, Fredrik Aursnes (Tiago Freitas, 90’), Franjo Ivanovic (Vangelis Pavlidis, 76’)
Napoli: Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Alessandro Buongiorno (Juan Jesus, 59’), Sam Beukema, Amir Rrahmani, Mathías Olivera, Scott McTominay, Elif Elmas (Antonio Vergara, 81’), David Neres, Rasmus Højlund, Noa Lang (Lorenzo Lucca, 74’)
Sporting put up a good fight in Germany this afternoon but ended up beaten by one of the Champions League favourites Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
After surviving an onslaught in the first half the Lions started the second half well and went ahead when Joshua Kimmich scored an own goal after good work by João Simões.
The lead did not last long however, Serge Gnabry equalising from a corner and soon afterwards 17-year-old sensation Lennart Karl put the home team in front. Jonathan Tah then made sure Bayern would be taking all three points with another set-piece goal.
Sporting striker Luis Suárez puts Bayern centre-back Dayot Upamecano under pressure (Photo: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
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Four starters miss the trip
Coming into the game on the back of an 11-match unbeaten run, Sporting coach Rui Borges selected an unfamiliar-looking lineup with usual starters Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves, Geovany Quenda and Gonçalo Inácio all out either due to injury or to provide them with rest.
Sporting struggled to contain a dominant Bayern in the first half. As early as the 5th minute the hosts had the ball in the net, Karl curling a beauty past the diving Rui Silva, but Sporting were saved by VAR who discerned a marginal offside in the buildup.
Rui Silva pulled off the first of several impressive saves when he dived full-length to push aside a Serge Gnabry shot. The Sporting goalkeeper then leapt to pluck a Harry Kane shot out of the air.
In a first half of one-way traffic Sporting’s only dangerous incursion towards the Bayern net saw Geny Catamo’s cross almost result in an own goal, with the alert Manuel Neuer preventing Jonathan Tah’s attempted clearance from opening the scoring.
Kane hits the post
But Bayern were creating chances regularly and Kane was a whisker away from making Bayern’s pressure count when he engineered room for himself brilliantly and rolled a precise shot against the post with Silva this time beaten. Karl came close again shortly before the interval, dribbling into the box and shooting powerfully at goal, with Silva again equal to it, parrying the ball out.
Michael Olise rifled in a shot that skidded wide and as the half-time whistle went the home supporters must have wondered how the game was still goalless.
Sporting stun Bayern
Having weathered the storm in the first 45 minutes, the Portuguese champions came out looking far more composed after the interval. Upon the restart Alisson Santos fired a shot wide, and the Brazilian was involved again as Sporting took a shock lead.
Santos did well to turn in his own half, progress the ball and play an accurate vertical pass into the path of João Simões with the outside of his foot. Simões sped towards goal, danced past Tah and crossed towards Luis Suárez, with Kimmich sliding in to prevent the Colombian from scoring but inadvertently knocking the ball past Neuer into his own net. Cue wild celebrations among the 3,000 travelling Sporting fans in the stadium.
The Portuguese team held their lead with relative comfort for the next ten minutes, but just as their fans were perhaps thinking they would be witnessing an historic night, Bayern hit back with two quickfire goals to turn around the match.
Double-whammy
The equaliser will annoy Rui Borges in particular, Serge Gnabry left completely unmarked at a corner to score from close range. Soon afterwards, a well-worked move created a shooting opportunity for Karl, whose shot on the turn beat Rui Silva, although the goalkeeper will be disappointed he failed to keep it out. Sporting’s players were incensed what they deemed a foul on Suárez at the beginning of the move had not been awarded, but the referee waved away the protests.
Sporting were reeling and Bayern duly scored a third goal as a long cross by Kimmich was headed back into the danger area by Gnabry and finished by Jonathan Tah.
The visitors did not throw in the towel and a swift attack down the right flank paved the way for a big chance for Suárez but an extra touch allowed Upamecano to make a vital interception, and any chance of an unlikely comeback was gone.
“I’m proud” – Borges
“I’m proud of the character and the personality shown by these players,” said Sporting coach Borges post-match. Sporting remain on ten points with two games remaining in the league phase of the Champions League, at home to PSG and away to Athletic Bilbao.
Porto found it tough to break down Tondela’s organised and disciplined defence early on, William Gomes testing Bernardo Fontes from a tight angle in the 30th minute.
The Dragons put the ball into the net three minutes later when Gomes’ shot was blocked by Brayan Medina, Rodrigo Mora beating Fontes from close range before the VAR caught the teenager a whisker offside.
The hosts had a goal of their own ruled out before the break following a free kick from Hugo Félix, Medina shouldering the ball over Diogo Costa but manhandling Victor Froholdt in the process.
Porto scored two quick goals after the restart to put the game to bed. Mora’s corner was headed towards goal by Jakub Kiwior, Fontes parrying the ball straight to Samu Aghehowa who accepted the gift.
Fontes had some excuses for the opening goal but was left with egg on his face in the 49th minute. He tried to get cute with Gomes bearing down, the Brazilian stealing the ball and rolling it into an empty net.
Francesco Farioli’s side successfully managed the remainder of the contest, holding the promoted club at arm's length and extending their lead at the top of the Primeira Liga to five points.
Martim Fernandes tested Robin Olsen early on before a howler from Jakub Kiwior went unpunished, the defender passing the ball straight to Salifou Soumah before blocking the Guinean’s goal bound shot.
Braga won in France for the first time in their history to continue their excellent campaign in the Europa League. A superbly worked team goal in the first half finished by Pau Victor was enough for a 1-0 win over struggling Nice.
Porto found it tough to break down Tondela’s organised and disciplined defence early on, William Gomes testing Bernardo Fontes from a tight angle in the 30th minute.