27/04/06 The majority of the games on the 33rd, penultimate, jornada
will all be played at 18.30 on Sunday 30m April. The only game brought forward is the crunch match between Nacional and Boavista, both vying for a UEFA Cup place, which will kick off at 19.00 on Saturday 29
April. 25/04/06 Sporting Braga clinched, mathematically, fourth spot and a UEFA Cup place Monday with an impressive 3-0 win at Académica, whose future in the top
flight looks uncertain. In an exciting game in which open, attacking football was the norm on both sides, it was Braga who always had the edge, especially in front of goal, although they also missed a hatful of chances.
Frechaut headed them in front on 21 minutes, but it was two second-half goals from top scorer João Tomás (14 to his tally this season) that did for Briosa. The first was on the break on 56 minutes
and involved a neat one-two with Wender but appeared to follow a foul on Joeano, not given, at the other end. His second, Braga's third, was an excellent effort: Castanheira put him through on the left, and it looked
like he had run out of space with no support, but then he cut in past José Castro and rounded the 'keeper Pedro Roma before tapping in. Some Liga
issues are already resolved, other are still hanging in the balance Champions: FC Porto
Second (automatic Champions League place): Sporting (66 points) or Benfica (64)
Third
(final preliminary round of Champions League): Sporting or Benfica
Fourth (UEFA Cup): Sporting Braga
Fifth (UEFA Cup): Boavista (49) or Nacional (48)
Relegated: Penafiel
Also
relegated: three from: Estrela da Amadora (39), Belenenses (38), Paços de Ferreira (38), Académica (37), Gil Vicente (36), Naval (36), Rio Ave (34), Vitória de Guimarães (34) The remaining games
on the last two jornadas look like this: 33rd jornada 30/04/06
Nacional v Boavista
Benfica v Vitória de Setúbal
Marítimo v Paços de Ferreira
Belenenses v Académica
Sporting Braga v Gil Vicente
Rio Ave v Sporting
Naval v União de Leiria
Estrela da Amadora v Penafiel
FC Porto v Vitória de Guimarães
34th jornada - 07/05/06 (final day)
Vitória de Setúbal v Nacional
Paços de Ferreira v Benfica
Académica v Marítimo
Gil Vicente v Belenenses
Sporting v Sporting Braga
União de Leiria v Rio Ave
Penafiel v Naval
Vitória de Guimarães v Estrela da Amadora
Boavista v FC Porto 24/04/06 The results table for this 32nd jornada
is looking very like binary code. Benfica went ahead against Nacional in their tiny Madeira stadium with a Miccoli
strike on 48 minutes after good work by Manduca on the left. It was a good response to a weak first half, but Benfica couldn't drive home the advantage, and two minutes from time Fernando
thundered in a header from a corner. The draw puts Nacioanl within one point of Boavista for the last UEFA Cup place, and the two teams meet next weekend. Benfica remain within two points of Sporting
in the battle between the two Lisbon giants for second place and an automatic passport to next season's Champions League. Sporting missed the chance to steal a march on Benfica after dropping two points at home to
Naval, themselves desperately in need of points to avoid the drop. Sporting will be claiming poor refereeing decisions to excuse the lapse, but the fact is that the did not make the most of the many chances they
had. Sporting captain Ricardo Sá Pinto
was sent off two minutes from time for words to a linesman, thus ending his career on an ignominious note. Naval put up a spirited, organised performance, but remain just two points above the drop zone. A
Luís Coentrão goal a quarter of an hour from the end gave Gil Vicente a precious thee points at home to fellow strugglers Rio Ave. The result lifts Gil out of trouble and puts Rio Ave into it.
Another solitary goal by Marítimo's Zé Carlos on the half hour gave the Madeiran club all three points at Vitória de Setubal. Paços de Ferreira got a valuable point with a 1-1
draw at home to Belenenses. The result was made in the first half, Edson putting Paços in front on ten minutes, Ruben Amorim equalising on 27. Estrela da Amadora also got a point at
União de Leiria. Rui Duarte put them in front on the stroke of half time, but Fábio Felício gave the home side a point twenty minutes from time. Liga de Honra side Beira-Mar
confirmed their return to the top flight after a season away, a penalty by Brazilian striker Roma beating Olhanense. 23/04/06
FC Porto Champions of Portugal. In what was virtually a home game for FC Porto at Penafiel, with perhaps 80% of the ground sporting blue and white, the game was won with a dubious penalty on
48 minutes for a 'foul' on Ibson, the spot kick converted by Adriano. In the first half, Alan had hit the bar and Benni McCarthy the post, and it was practically one-way traffic throughout the game, man of the
match Nuno Santos in the Penafiel goal keeping Porto out with a series of excellent saves. Five minutes from time, the Penafiel announcer
was rather prematurely congratulating Porto on their title and pleading with the Porto fans to keep off the pitch at the end. Thirty seconds from time, however, the stewards and GNR (Guarda Nacional Republicana) officers on duty were insufficient to stop the wave of fans that burst onto the pitch. The game was
stopped and several Porto players were stripped of their kit: Bosingwa and Adriano left the pitch in their underpants. Twenty minutes later, with GNR riot police now in place, the pitch had been cleared
and the final half-minute and the three minutes of added time were played out, with a scare right at the end for Porto as Bruno Amaro drove goalwards but into the safe hands of Hélton. At the final whistle, there was a
second peaceful pitch invasion, but this time most players were strategically close to the tunnel. At the final whistle, fans were already in the traditional place to celebrate the title - Porto's central
Avenida dos Aliados - celebrations that were set to continue into the night. 22/04/06 Vitória de Guimarães
continue in the drop zone and are looking odds on for relegation after only managing a 1-1 draw at home to eternal rivals Boavista in front of 23,000. On a soggy night in the north of the country,
Paulo Jorge
put Boavista ahead on 15 minutes, beating Moreno at the back post to a deceptive Manuel José cross from the right. Boavista adapted better to the waterlogged pitch, and things looked even brighter for them when Vitória captain Cléber was sent off on 70 minutes for bringing down Oravec, through on goal. But on 78 and out of nothing, full-back
Paíto cracked a drive in from 25 metres to level. Boavista, now two points ahead of Nacional in sixth, remain on course for Europe. Nacional play Benfica this weekend and receive Boavista next. FC Porto
will be Champions if they win at bottom club Penafiel Saturday. Lucho González, Marek Cech and Ricardo Quaresma are all out through suspension. It will be coach Co Adriaanse's first major title. (Article on official UEFA site) The Liga have announced that they will put off scheduling the penultimate day's games
(next weekend) until this jornada is over. Games on the last two jornadas that have a bearing on the title, Europe and relegation are normally played at the same time, traditionally 16.00 on Sunday.
União de Leiria midfielder Paulo Gomes has been suspended for one game and fined 700 euros by the Liga for hitting a team-mate, Harison, during last weekend's match against FC Porto. The
decision was made based on TV images; at the time the referee gave nothing. 18/04/06 In an eventful match in Braga, Paços de Ferreira beat the local Sporting 3-2
and moved three points clear of the drop zone. Didi
got two goals for Paços, the first a delightful chip over Paulo Santos after a cut in from the left. Paços' second goal, to make it two-nil, came from a controversial moment, the ball clearly shepherded out by Paulo Santos. The linesman did not give it out,
Júnior could not believe his luck and walked the ball into the goal. Braga twice pulled the score back through Delibasic and João Tomás
from the spot, but at the end they were blaming the refereeing decision on the second goal for the defeat. Braga stay in fourth, and their permanence there is a mere formality. 17/04/06
Marítimo beat Nacional 2-0 in the Madeira derby Sunday. Olberdam got the first on 54 minutes, and Marcinho
made the result certain three minutes from time. Marítimo's Kanu was sent off in the closing stages for lashing out at Nacional central defender Ávalos. The result drags Marítimo five points clear of the drop zone, while Nacional missed a good chance of moving into the UEFA Cup places.
One point behind Marítimo are Estrela da Amadora, who held Sporting to a 0-0
draw Saturday. Sporting thus fall seven points behind top team FC Porto, who can clinch the title if they win next weekend. More worrying for Sporting is the fact that Benfica are now just two points behind them in the fight for the second spot, which gives direct access to the Champions League.
Benfica had a relatively comfortable 2-0 win at Boavista, who have now gone seven Liga games without a victory. Both goals came in the second half, the first an own goal by
Tiago, diverting a Simão free-kick over 'keeper Khadim (on for the injured William). Eight minutes from time, Simão fed sub Mantorras to make the result safe.
At the bottom, six points separate 9th (Marítimo) from 17th (Gil Vicente). Gil did themselves a world of good with a 4-1 win at fellow strugglers Naval. Gregory
gave them the lead on four minutes, Fajardo equalising on 40. But then in the second half, Gil went wild and netted three times through Nandinho (2) and Carlitos
to keep the team from Barcelos in touch with safety. Also in touch are Vitória de Guimarães, 3-1 winners over relegated Penafiel. Benachour and Saganowski put Vitória two-up by the break,
Wesley extended the lead in the second half and Penafiel got a consolation through Jorginho with 20 minutes left. Gaúcho put Rio Ave ahead at home to Académica, but four second half
goals for the Estudantes, from Gelson (2) Rui Miguel and Pedro Silva
(the latter after a brilliant 50-yard solo run) turned the game right around. The result pushes Rio Ave into the fourth relegation place, accompanied by Vitória de Guimarães, Gil Vicente and the already-down Penafiel.
15/04/06 FC Porto moved eight points clear of Sporting at the top of the Liga Friday with a 1-0 win over União de Leiria. Adriano
got the goal just before the break, and immediately headed for the bench to dedicate it to coach Co Adriaanse, who lost both his parents this week. Porto's Argentinian midfielder Lucho Gonzalez was sent off for a second yellow ten minutes from time.
Belenenses took a bit of pressure off themselves with a 3-1 win over safe Vitória de Setúbal. All three home goals were scored by Meyong, two from penalties. The Cameroonian striker
goes to the top of the table of Liga goalscorers with 17. Setúbal's goal came from veteran Bruno Ribeiro. The Restelo stadium was fuller than usual: the local free newspaper Destak
were giving away free pairs of tickets. 14/04/06 FC Porto's Dutch coach Co Adriaanse will be on the bench to guide his team for the visit of União de Leiria
Friday, despite the fact that both his parents died this week. A full house of 50,000 is expected at the Estádio do Dragão
hoping to see Porto, five points clear of Sporting, take one more giant step towards the title. Associate members and local residents will get in for nothing for the upcoming Rio Ave v Académica
game. The club wants a full house to help push the team to victory in what is a vital relegation battle. 12/04/06 FC Porto forward Ricardo Quaresma
has received a fast-track two-game suspension (subject to appeal) after stomping on Sporting full-back Tonel in the weekend's clássico. The decision by the Liga's Disciplinary Committee was taken by means of TV
images since the referee did not give anything at the time. Porto coach Co Adriaanse immediately withdrew the player after the incident. Marítimo's Briguel received the same potential penalty.
11/04/06 Penafiel and Boavista
ground out Monday what was certainly one of the worst games of football this season has seen. With such a paucity of ideas among the 22 players on show (plus later substitutions), it is not surprising that the final score was as it had started: 0-0. Central defender
Ricardo Silva was sent off for a second yellow in the second half and will miss Boavista's reception of Benfica Saturday. After the game, Boavista captain João Pinto
was scathing of the referee, but it was not him that could not put more than two passes together. Penafiel are already relegated, while Boavista sneak one point ahead of Nacional into 5th, the last European place.
10/04/06 A lacklustre Benfica were lucky to scrape a 2-2 draw at home to Marítimo
Sunday, but the point closes to four the gap on Sporting in the second, automatic Champions League place. With fifteen minutes to go, Marítimo were two-up with goals by Valnei on 37 and the very useful
Zé Carlos. But a spectacular volley from outside the area by Petit on 79 and a Simão penalty six minutes (!) into added time saved Benfica's blushes. Marítimo remain in mid-table. Sporting Braga
are now six points behind third after going down to a Carlitos goal on 51 minutes at Vitória de Setúbal. Cup-finalists Vitória are just two points adrift of a European place.
At the bottom, the battle continues to stay in the Liga. Paços de Ferreira snuck out of the bottom four with a 2-1 win at home to Rio Ave. Rui Dolores put Paços in front on 17 minutes,
Niquinha equalised on the hour, but João Paulo won the three precious points for Paços a quarter of an hour from the end. Into the bottom four slip Académica
after a controversial game in Coimbra. The home side were two up with both goals coming from Joeano, but Lito in the first half and Saulo in the second gave Naval
a point. Académica had three players and their coach, Nelo Vingada, sent off. Remaining in the relegation places along with Académica, Vitória de Guimarães and the already relegated Penafiel are Gil Vicente
who could only draw 1-1 at home to Estrela da Amadora. Santamaria put the visitors in front just before the break with a goal that only the match officials were sure had crossed the line, while
Gregory headed the equaliser in the seond half. 09/04/06 FC Porto took a giant step to the regaining of the Portuguese title Saturday with a 1-0
win in front of 49,000 at top-of-the-table rivals Sporting. The result puts five points between the two sides, with Porto having the advantage in games between the two (at the Dragão earlier in the season it was
1-1) and with only four games left. It was a pretty untidy game, littered with fouls and yellow cards, which led to red cards for Sporting's Ricardo Sã Pinto (in his last clássico
before retirement) on the hour and Porto's Bosingwa
just minutes afterwards. There was little coherent football to speak of, the importance of the game seeming to get to heads. The teams were finally separated by a goal from Jorginho on 84 minutes, running into the area from an Adriano pass and crashing the ball past the oncoming Ricardo and high into the net off a post.
Earlier in the evening, Vitória de Guimarães' woes were compounded by a 1-0 defeat at União de Leiria, who ensured their permanence in the top flight for another season. Cadú da Silva
tapped in from a low cross by Lourenço on 63 minutes to leave Vitória in dire straits at the bottom, relegation looking increasingly likely for them. Another side tottering on the brink of the drop are Belenenses
, who went down 0-4 at Nacional Friday. Two goals apiece from the Brazilians André Pinto and Alexandre Goulart rocked a typically soft-bellied Belenenses. 04/04/06 Rio Ave
did themselves a power of good Monday with a 1-0 win over Vitória de Setúbal, who appear to have taken their foot off the pedal after confirming safety. Agostinho
got the only goal after just four minutes. 03/04/06 In what was a predictable result, FC Porto
returned to the top of the table (after 24 hours in second) with a 3-0 home win over Gil Vicente, stuck in the relegation zone. The result was never in doubt after Cech
scored his first league goal in added time at the end of the firstt half, but Porto's task was made easier with two red cards for the Gil players Braima (53) and Bruno Tiago (72). Quaresma
scored from the spot on 78 (hand ball by Rovérsio) but had to net on the rebound after Jorge Baptista had parried, and sub Ibson
toe-poked the third on 86. Gil coach Paulo Alves was also sent off for kicking the dug-out cover in frustration. Porto are two points ahead of Sporting, and next Saturday's game between the two at Alvalade is being dubbed 'The Game of the Title'.
After seven wins on the trot at the beginning of the second half of the season, Boavista now cannot seem to win to save their life. They went five games without the taste of victory with a 1-1
draw at home to Marítimo, improving under Ulisses Morais. Paulo Jorge put Boavista in front on ten minutes with a neat header from a Manuel José cross, while sub Zé Carlos
gave Marítimo a point with a well taken goal from a cross by Filipe Oliveira. In between, Marcos in the Marítimo goal made a handful of excellent saves. Estrela da Amdora
were two-down within half an hour at home to Académica, goals from Joeano and Filipe Teixeira, but an incredible second-half comeback saw them winning 3-2 thanks to goals from Manú
and Rui Borges (2), the second of his goals coming deep into added time at the end of the game. Already relegated Penafiel got a rare point at home to União de Leiria
but could have got an even rarer three but for a very late equaliser from União's Lourenço. Penafiel had gone ahead with a very early strike, Diallo beating Costinha after just 35 seconds. 02/04/06 Sporting fans have a saying: "Liedson
resolve!" [Liedson resolves games]. Once again it was the diminutive Brazilian striker, nicknamed 'Levezinho' ['Lighty'], who got the single goal to bring all three points back from Guimarães. The goal came ten
minutes from the end, Liedson, unmarked and put onside by Moreno from a through ball by Moutinho, crashing the ball high into the net past Nilson. The win provisionally puts Sporting ahead of FC Porto, who play Gil
Vicente Sunday. Vitória, whose results week after week belie the obvious quality of the side, remain in the relegation places. Later in the evening, Benfica kept their tenuous title hopes alive with a 2-1
win at Lisbon neighbours Belenenses. The result was built in the first half, Belenenses going in front on eight minutes through José Pedro, but before the half-hour mark Benfica were ahead through
Miccoli and Karagounis. Benfica forward Nuno Gomes
twisted a knee in the first half and will be out for at least thre weeks, missing the trip to Barcelona in the week. The absence may prejudice the striker's chances of being this season's top scorer in the Liga.
Naval got three precious points with a 1-0 win at home to fellow strugglers Paços de Ferreira, Fajardo getting the all-important winner eight minutes from time. 01/04/06 Sporting Braga consolidated their fourth place in the Liga and moved to within two points of Benfica in third Friday with a 1-0 win over faltering Nacional.
Delibasic
got the one goal on just 12 minutes. Nacional's Juliano was sent off five minutes from time for a foul on Wender. Nacional remain two points behind Boavista in fifth, the last position that gains access to Europe next season.
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