Portuguese Football in English
In a similar match to the previous two encounters between these two Portuguese heavyweights this season, Porto’s superior finishing proved the difference as the northerners beat Sporting 2-1 at the José Alvalade stadium.
In an open and entertaining game, goals from Matheus Uribe and Pepê gave Porto the points, with Chermiti’s late strike proving only a consolation for Sporting.
Braga got past Benfica in an action packed Taça de Portugal quarter-final clash at the Quarry.
Gonçalo Guedes headed the Eagles into the lead in the 15th minute, the visitors soon reduced to 10 men when Alexander Bah was sent off for an ugly challenge on Pizzi.
Al Musrati equalised before the break but Braga were unable to turn their numerical superiority into a second goal.
The contest was settled from the penalty spot, the first six converted before Matheus denied Fredrik Aursnes. Braga held their nerve, scoring all five spot kicks to set up a semi-final clash against Nacional da Madeira.
Two Monday night late shows closed the 19th round of Liga Bwin fixtures as both Sporting and Portimonense grabbed dramatic winning goals in the closing stages of their encounters with Rio Ave and Paços Ferreira respectively.
Elsewhere Chaves ended a recent barren run by overcoming Marítimo, while Vitória Guimarães tightened up the battle for 5th place with an important defeat of Estoril.
At the top of the table things remain as they were as leaders Benfica strengthened their title claims with a confident 3-0 victory against Casa Pia. 30 year old midfielder João Mário was instrumental in the match as he continued his fine form this season, and he is our PortuGOAL Figure of the Week.
Sporting Clube de Portugal secured a hard fought 1-0 victory against Rio Ave at Estádio dos Arcos.
Chances were few and far between in Vila do Conde, Emanule Boateng with the first clear cut opportunity in the 53rd minute when he surged into the box but was unable to beat Adán.
The game was headed for a goalless draw until Sporting scored the decisive goal in the 84th minute.
Youssef Chermiti was in the right place at the right time, the giant 18-year-old netting his first senior goal after his shot got past Jhonatan.
FC Porto 2-0 FC Vizela
FC Porto have secured second place for another week with a 2-0 victory at home to Vizela as they hunt down league-leaders Benfica in defence of the Primeira Liga title.
The Dragons were made to wait until the 41st minute to break the deadlock, bagged by the ever-impressive Pepê before the half-time interval.
The wait for the second promised to be just as excruciating, however, as Mehdi Taremi, with four minutes of normal time left, put the game to bed and reinstated the gap between themselves and on-song Benfica to eight points, with the Northern outfit still with a game in hand to look forward to.
