Portuguese Football in English
A resolute performance by Casa Pia saw the Lisbon outfit hold FC Porto to a goalless draw at the Jamor National Stadium tonight, despite playing over half the match with only ten men.
After making a bright start Porto came up against a brick wall in the shape of a superbly marshalled defence, and on the few occasions they did find a way through, goalkeeper Ricardo Batista was on hand to earn a precious point for Filipe Martins’ side.
Benfica have returned to winning ways after a 1-0 win at home to Portimonense saw them bounce back from their first Primeira Liga defeat of the season versus Sporting de Braga, last Friday.
The Eagles left their mark on Portimonense as early as the 9th minute through João Mário’s spot-kick, providing the decisive difference between the two sides in a slim victory in front of their home support.
Beforehand, Braga upgraded their 3-0 victory versus Benfica to a 4-0 thrashing away to Santa Clara, headlined by the in-demand and ever-impressive Ricardo Horta.
Right, where were we? With the 2022 World Cup taking everyone’s minds off domestic football for a good two months, you’d be forgiven for not being totally up to speed with everything that’s happened behind the scenes in the Portuguese top flight.
With a clear run towards the end of the season ahead of us - and with the small matter of a January transfer window already well under way - we’re here to bring you up to speed with all the main stories, and some you might have missed, including info to help you with everyday winning tips, from Portuguese clubs in recent weeks.
Liga Bwin football is back after the World Cup break, and it’s back with a bang as Benfica’s long unbeaten run was ended in style by a resurgent Braga. Porto and Sporting took advantage of the dropped points with convincing wins of their own, overcoming Arouca and Paços Ferreira respectively.
Famalicão and Gil Vicente gave their survival hopes a shot in the arm each, overcoming Chaves and Santa Clara. Casa Pia’s dream season continued, returning from the hiatus with an impressive win at Portimonense.
Another team to register an important triumph was Vizela, who triumphed over Vitória Guimarães in no small part due to the excellence of their midfield maestro Samu, the final PortuGOAL Figure of the Week of 2022.
Sp. Braga 3-0 Benfica
Sporting de Braga have dealt Benfica their first league defeat of the season by marking the return of the Primeira Liga, post-World Cup, with a 3-0 win at the Estádio Municpal.
The hosts raced ahead with an early 1-0 lead, nabbed by Abel Ruiz in a blistering start for Artur Jorge’s men against the previously undefeated Roger Schmidt.
Benfica were then made to watch on as their long-term transfer target Ricardo Horta found the back of the net either side of the interval, inflating Braga’s lead to a three-goal advantage and reinstating their points margin over fourth-placed Sporting, whereas the gap at the top of the table shortens to just five points.
