28/02/06 Sporting Braga clawed their way back above Benfica into third place Monday, four points behind FC Porto, with a resounding 5-0 hammering of Rio Ave
. Rio Ave kept Braga to a single goal before the break, João Tomás jinking inside from the left on 34 minutes and firing low inside the near post. Rio Ave put some pressure on in the first 20 minutes of the second
half, but their finishing was lame and on 63 minutes João Tomás
crashed the ball in at the back post for number two after a nudge on by Cesinha from a cross by Rossato. Rio Ave's heads dropped and they were doomed from that point on. The best goal of the night was the third, four minutes later: Luís Filipe marauded down the right, crossed low, Cesinha stepped over it, fooling the whole of the Rio Ave defence, and
Vandinho was following up to clip his shot in. The last fifteen minutes saw goals from the South Korean Kim and Delibasic, on as sub and playing for the first time since Day 3.
You had to feel sorry for Rio Ave 'keeper Candeias, making his first start of the season, but on this form Braga are irrepressible and must have had alarm bells ringing among the teams around them. As for Rio
Ave, they are in the relegation zone along with Naval, Vitória de Guimarães and Penafiel, as good as down. But there are a mere six points separating the team in 9th, Marítimo, and the team in 17th, Guimarães
. It's going to be some battle to stay up. 27/02/05 It was far from a classic clássico the one played out Sunday at the Luz between Benfica and
FC Porto. There was a lot of huffing and puffing, a lot of niggling fouls and a lot of midfield tussling, but very few decent moves of note, and even fewer clear chances on goal. Until the single goal of the game,
Benfica's best move was one driven by Nuno Gomes on the half hour, ending with a neat one-two with Karagounis on the edge of the area but then a shot that hit row Z. Five minutes later, Quaresma, far too hot-headed on
the night (a tendency that may deny him a place in Germany) found time between attacks of nastiness to cross low from the right for McCarthy to be beaten by a whisker to the ball at the near post, Anderson clearing.
Then on 40 minutes, Robert was felled by the otherwise excellent Paulo Assunção 35 metres out. The French winger got up, dusted himself off and drove in a low swerving free-kick that Baía misjudged: a veritable
frango that Baía owned up to after the game, his 400th for the club. Benfica might have been two up a minute later, but Nuno Gomes, put through by Simão, snatched at his shot when he only had Baía to beat.
FC Porto put up some meek resistance in the second half, but Benfica were on top of it (Luisão, for example, having another exemplary game), and Porto looked far from being the pace-setters in the Liga.
In added time, McCarthy latched onto a Lucho González through pass to the right of goal, swivelled and shot but, like his team's perfomance on the night, it was off the mark. Porto coach Co Adriaanse, now giving
flash interviews in faltering Portuguese, admitted as much. Adriaanse has now lost all eight of the head-to-heads with Ronald Koeman over the years. Porto's lead at the top is thus reduced to two points over
Sporting, Benfica are five points off the pace and Sporting Braga and Boavista seven. Braga play Monday at home to Rio Ave. Vitória de Setúbal consolidated seventh position with a 2-0 win over doomed
Penafiel. Goals in the first half from Binho and Adalto did the damage. Naval did themselves some good at the bottom with a 3-2 win at irregular Belenenses
. The visitors were two up within 35 minutes through Tiago Fraga and Saulo. Nélson Veiga
put through his own goal on 73 minutes to give Belenenses some hope, but it took just three minutes for Naval to restore the two-goal lead through Lito. Meyong
scored from the spot with two minutes left, but it was too late to turn it round. João Paulo gave Paços de Ferreira the lead on 32 minutes at home to improved União de Leiria
, but a defensive mistake let in Lourenço for the equaliser on 71 minutes. Paços need the points to escape the drop, but they dropped two needlessly here. In an even mid-table battle in Madeira, Marítimo
beat Estrela da Amadora with a single goal from Kanu on 54 minutes. 26/02/06 In an open, eventful game in Coimbra, in the centre of the country, Sporting
came away 3-0 winners at the expense of a spirited Académica, threatened with relegation. Sporting were 1-0 up within two minutes, Deivid crossing low from the left for Moutinho
to bundle in at the far post. But Académica came back strongly, and it was only their wayward finishing that prevented them from drawing level. It wasn't until the 57th minute that Sporting could rest a little more easily, but what a goal it was when it came. A long clearance from the back was misjudged by Académica central defender Hugo Alacântara who effectively headed on for
Liedson, the Brazilian controlling the ball with his right and volleying in with his left from a full 25 metres. It was heavy going for Académica from then on in, and things were not improved on the stroke of
time when goalkeeper Pedro Roma gave Liedson a backhander and saw a straight red card. Nani
sent the stand-in goalkeeper Gelson the wrong way from the spot. Sporting are now just two points behind FC Porto and await the result of Sunday's clássico
between Benfica and FC Porto, perhaps for once hoping for a Benfica win. Earlier in the evening, another open game saw Vitória de Guimarães earn a 1-1 draw in Madeira against Nacional. Wesley
put Vitória in front on 14 minutes, Wesley striding forward from the centre circle and only stopping when he had passed the Nacional defence and planted the ball past Diego. But Chilikov
headed in a free kick on 38 minutes to put Nacional back on level terms, and that's how it stayed. Guimarães remain in the relegation zone, while Nacional drop out of the European places, overtaken by Boavista, who won on Friday.
Sunday's clássico between Benfica and FC Porto will be a sell-out, which means 65,000 at the Luz. The game will be Porto 'keeper Vítor Baía's 400th for the club; he will be playing
because Hélton, recently first choice, is injured. 25/02/06 Boavista stretched their run of straight Liga victories to seven Friday with a 1-0 win at Gil Vicente
. Boavista took the lead on nine minutes, an unmarked João Pinto
heading immaculately past Paaulo Jorge from a free kick on the right by Manuel José. Then the rain started, torrentially, and neither side was able to put together any coherent football, although Gil had the better of the play. After the final whistle, there were scuffles on the pitch and Luís Coentrão of Gil Vicente and Boavista's Hélder Rosário were both shown red cards.
21/02/06 Vitória de Setúbal moved to within a handful of points of their pre-season objective Monday: to stay in the Liga. they did it at the expense of mid-table rivals
União de Leiria, strangely pale on the night, and thanks to a goal six minutes into each half from two on-loan players: the first from Varela (Sporting), the second from Carlitos
(Benfica). Vitória stretch their lead over União to five points. 20/02/06 FC Porto
kept their five-point lead over Sporting at the top but extended it to eight points over Benfica Sunday with a 1-0 win over Marítimo. Raúl Meireles
scored the goal on 21 minutes, striding unchecked throught the Marítimo midfield and driving past Marcos from outside the area. Five minutes later, Williams headed off the line from Lucho González. The referee gave Porto a penalty for hand ball and showed Williams a red card, but upon advice from the assitant linesman, he corrected his decision. Marítimo's starting line up included nine Brazilians.
A goal from sub Cesinha on 65 minutes gave Sporting Braga all three points at strugglers Naval. Top scorer João Tomás missed from the spot in the dying minutes. Braga move into third place ahead
of Benfica, seven points behind Porto. Nacional moved back into fifth, nine points behind Porto, with a 2-1 win at 'red lantern' Penafiel. Alexandre Goulart
put the Madeiran side in front on 11 minutes, Orahovac equalised for Penafiel on the stroke of half-time but Chilikov got the winner on 65. Gil Vicente just shaded a ding-dong battle to beat
Académica 4-3 in Barcelos and move out of the relegation zone. Joeano put Académica in front on just seven minutes, João Pedro equalised for the home side on 22, Mateus put Gil ahead on 24,
Joeano got his second from the spot on 35 and Gregory put Gil in front at the break with a goal on 39 minutes. Joeano
got his hat-trick on 72 minutes to put the teams level, but then a minute from time, Carlos Carneiro got the winner in a famous victory for Gil. Académica's Pedro Silva saw a second yellow near the end.
Silas on 34 minutes and Ruben Amorim, fed by Silas, three minutes later gave Belenenses a solid lead that local mid-table rivals Estrela da Amadora
could not surmount, although they did pull one back on 74 minutes through central defender Maurício with a free kick. 19/02/06
On a filthy night in Portugal that produced squelchy playing surfaces, the two Lisbon Grandes had differing fortunes. Sporting received Paços de Ferreira
and finished with all three points. The victory was initiated with a dubious penalty on the half hour, Paços 'keeper Peçanha appearing to clear the ball from the feet of midfielder João Moutinho. The referee saw nothing, unlike the linesman.
Ricardo Sá Pinto scored from the spot. It wasn't until the last five minutes that Sporting made the result safe, subs Deivid and Tello
scoring, both set up by the other sub Nani. Sporting climb to within two points of FC Porto, with the top team facing Marítimo Sunday. Paços remain perilously close to the drop zone. Benfica
did not fare so well on their wintry trip north to Guimarães. They never came to terms with the conditions, and Vitória
always seemed the team more likely to succeed. Vitória went in front on 20 minutes, helped by a stroke of luck, midfielder Svärd
sending a speculative long shot goalwards that ballooned off Ricardo Rocha's head and over Moretto in the Benfica goal. Twenty minutes from time, Neca
clipped in a loose ball from ten metres to put the game beyond Benfica, whose coach Ronald Koeman admitted after the game that the club's title aspirations are now seriously jeopardised: they are five points behind FC Porto, which could extend to eight Sunday. Vitória remain in the relegation zone, but this result and their perfomance augur well for the near future.
18/02/06 Boavista made it six Liga wins in a row Friday, but they left it until added time against Rio Ave
to translate their superiority on the night into the three points they deserved. The win enables the team from Porto to sneak into the European places, a position that will depend on the results of Sporting Braga and Nacional's games.
Rio Ave it was that came off the blocks sprinting, going in front on just three minutes through an unmarked Bruno Mendes with a header from a corner. Ricardo Silva, five minutes from half time, put the
game even with a text-book header from a Manuel José free kick on the right. Boavista had varios chances to take the lead, but they were foiled by an excellent display from Mora in the Rio Ave goal and, on one occasion,
by the bar after a long shot by Zé Manel. Five minutes from time, Rio Ave had Danielson sent off for a second yellow, and then into added time, Manuel José
found the top right hand corner with a frontal free-kick to leave the result 2-1. 14/02/06 Vitória de Guimarães
secured three precious points Monday in their fight for survival at the bottom of the Liga, winning 1-0 at faltering Marítimo. Saganowski
got the only goal on five minutes, cracking a Moreno cross in at the near post. Marítimo were unable to undo Vitória's super-organised rearguard, and matters were made worse on 80 minutes when Marcinho saw a red card for hitting Flávio Meireles, and the Madeiran side were down to nine when captain Van der Gaag was sent off on the stroke of time for protesting a decision. Vitória are still five points away from safety, but this was a vital win.
13/02/06 The Liga returned to normal Sunday: the Big Three
are first, second and third, Sporting and Benfica moving to within five points of FC Porto after wins. Meanwhile, Sporting Braga dropped two points at home and Nacional got thumped 4-1, also at home. Sporting
were the better side at Vitória de Setúbal and deserved the three points, Carlos Martins driving home a free kick from thirty metres and hitting another free kick that Marco Tábuas could only parry,
Moutinho knocking in the rebound. Carlitos pulled one back for Vitória from the spot after Sã Pinto had handled. Vitória appear to be in free-fall after a marvellous first half to the season. Benfica
saw off Penafiel 4-0 at the Luz, but the bottom side put in a spirited performance and were unlucky not to have goals to show from some good chances in the first half, Moretto saving twice from Roberto.
Geovanni got Benfica's first on 36 minutes, after a superb through ball from Petit. Then on the hour, Roberto
headed through his own goal from a Petit corner. That knocked the stuffing out of Penafiel, and with their game getting more ragged, Nuno Gomes
made it three on 77 minutes after good work down the left by Petit and Léo, whose cross it was. In added time, captain Simão added a fourth with Penafiel's defence all at sea. Sporting Braga
are in fourth, two points behind the Lisbon two. They were one-nil down at home to Estrela da Amadora, André Barreto scoring his first for the club, but João Tomás
saved some of their blushes. Braga should have capitalised on their numerical advantage, though, after Estrela 'keeper Bruno Vale was sent off with half an hour to go. In-form União de Leiria
travelled to Madeira and embarrassed high-riding Nacional 4-1, with three goals in the first half hour from Alhandra, Paulo César and João Paulo from the spot. Goulart
reduced the lead just before the break, also from the spot, but Maciel made it four for União with twenty minutes left. Naval did themselves some good in their fight against relegation with a 1-0
win at Rio Ave, who missed two penalties. Franco got the only goal. Paços de Ferreira also picked up some valuable points at the bottom with a 1-0 win over Gil Vicente
, their first in seven games. Júnior Bahia was on target for Paços. 12/02/06 Both Porto clubs, FC Porto and Boavista, won away Saturday, both by 2-0
and both thanks to a couple of goals from one striker. FC Porto dominated Belenenses throughout and translatd the dominance into three points, the goals coming from Adriano, his first for the
club in official games. His first was just before half time, knocking in a low Ricardo Quaresma cross at the back post. His second, six minutes into the second half, was virtually a carbon copy of the first, but this
time Quaresma's cross was from the left. Porto extend their lead at the top to eight points, albeit provisionally. Boavista visited Académica
and also dominated, although possession went Académica's way. But they could not find their way through a Boavista defence that has let in just one goal in the last seven games (Liga and Taça), all wins
for the 'Panthers'. A rejuvenated Boavista took the points with two goals from an equally rejuvenated João Pinto. His first was a superb near-post header from a Zé Manuel free kick on the left. For his second on
77 minutes, he picked up an excellent square pass from Paulo Jorge, rounded Pedro Roma in the Académica goal and slotted home. Boavista continue to climb towards Europe. 07/02/06
FC Porto dominated Sporting Braga for large stretches of Monday's game but still dropped two points in a 1-1
draw. They were in front ten minutes into the second half, Adriano forcing a block from the excellent Paulo Santos in the Braga goal, with Argentian midfielder Lucho Gonzalez
first to the rebound for a tap in. Porto's sin was trying to sit on the lead late in the game, and as often happens, their caution came up and bit them on the behind: two minutes from time, Bruno Alves, brought on as sub to bolster the defence, fouled South Korean forward Kim (possibly offside) in the area, and
João Tomás
made no mistake from the spot. Two great late saves by Paulo Santos from Raúl Meireles and Bosingwa gave Braga, who had never been able to kick-start their normally slick passing game, a point they did not really deserve.
Porto move five points clear at the top, with Sporting, Sporting Braga and Benfica all on 40. (see results and table) Nacional coach Rui Alves is to report
Sporting captain Ricardo Sá Pinto to the Liga after he was allegedly threatened after Saturday's game between the two clubs. Alves is also considering pressing criminal charges. 06/02/06 Vitória de Guimarães remain deep in trouble at the bottom of the table after they could only draw 2-2 with Belenenses
Sunday in a game between two clubs that had voiced ambitions to European football next season but that now seem doomed to struggle to avoid the drop. Romeu
scored against his old club on 43 minutes, taking advantage of some reckless over-confidence by Vitória 'keeper Nilson, but Belenenses' jubilation was short lived, Dário
rifling home from inside the area on the stroke of half-time. On the hour Saganowski put Guimarães infront, but once again the advantage could hardly be savoured before Ruben Amorim
drove in low from outside the area to equalise for Belenenses. and so it remained, Vitória's Paulo Sérgio hitting a post in the final minutes. Vitória remain seven points off safety. The big score of the day was the
5-0 thumping by Gil Vicente over European contenders Vitória de Setúbal. Carlitos and Rovérsio in the first half and Carlitos again, Carlos Carneiro and Mateus
in the second did the damage. Bottom club Penafiel refuse to give up without a fight, beating Marítimo at home in a ding-dong 3-2 battle. Kanu put the visitors in front on 16 minutes,
Roberto equalising on 32. On the hour, Dill gave Penafiel the lead, but an own goal by Sérgio Lomba five minutes later put the teams back on level terms. It was left to Bruno Amaro
to give Penafiel all the points a quarter of an hour from the end. Estrela da Amadora and Rio Ave ground out what by all accounts was a 0-0 draw of no interest whatsoever. 05/02/06 Benfica crashed 1-3 at União de Leiria Saturday in front of 17,000. It was their second straight defeat, with six points lost and six goals conceded. The Águias
had their chances to put the game beyond União, but they came up against a brick wall in 'keeper Costinha. It was União who went in front, captain and central defender João Paulo
moving upfield to crack home a low shot from 30 metres that Moretto saw late and could not reach. They extended their lead on 57 minutes, Luisão losing the ball in a dangerous frontal position; Paulo César shot, Moretto parried and
Fábio Felício was on hand to tuck the ball away. Benfica thought they were back in it on 81 when Manduca, on as sub, hit a first time shot from an angle to beat Costinha. But it was the only time the
excellent 'keeper would have to pick the ball out of the net, and on 87, Maciel on the counter-attack put the game beyond a Benfica that has lost its way in the last two games. Sporting
took advantage of Benfica's slip to move above them into second place with a 1-0 win over table rivals Nacional. A goal from defender Marco Caneira, fed by Liedson, five minutes into the second
half was enough to move Sporting a point above Nacional and on the same points as Benfica, although Sporting have the advantage over their Lisbon rivals in the head-to-head. FC Porto are four points clear, and can
increase the gap to seven if they beat Sporting Braga on Monday. Académica moved further away from the relegation zone with a comfortable 3-0 win over Paços de Ferreira
, all the goals coming in the second half from Gelson, Mangualde (own goal) and Serjão. 04/02/06 Boavista continued their run of good form with a 3-0
win over Naval, their fourth in a row. It was all over bar the shouting after just five minutes. An ummarked Figueiredo, making his league debut, headed home a João Pinto corner on a minute, and
João Pinto swivelled to hit home a loose ball from close range on five. On the hour, it was the former Portuguese international once again who supplied the cross for Lucas to make the result beyond doubt.
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