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31/10/06 Coach Jaime Pacheco's return to Boavista
for a third spell (this was actually his 300th game in charge at the club) was not a happy one as his team went down 0-2 at Paços de Ferreira. It was Boavista's third defeat in a row, during which time
they haven't scored a single goal, and the team, tipped for Europe at the beginning of the season, are now 13th, just three points above the relegation slots, while Paços move up to ninth.
Paços thoroughly deserved the win for their organised play, quick and aggressive midfield and sharp forwards. Boavista, for all their huff and puff, had few ideas,
and their defence was the same wobbly
one that has let in seven goals in those three defeats; Jaime Pacheco has a job on his hands to pump some confidence and organisation into what currently looks like a side that will be fighting against relegation rather than to qualify for Europe.
Paços took the lead on 19 minutes, the Boavista defence failing to clear a cross from the right with Edson
lurking on the edge of the area to knock home. Before the break, Boavista had two legitimate calls for penalties ignored, the first for a foul on Linz and the second for a clear and intentional hand ball by Ronny. Boavista's president João Loueeiro ripped into the refereeing after the game, but if he had put his hand on his heart, he could not have believed that his side deserved any more than to go two down on 74 minutes: a Peçanha clearance did not touch the ground as it was headed on by former Boavista man João Paulo, then headed on again by Edson before falling to the excellent
Didi, who deftly lobbed William as the Boavista 'keeper came charging out. The teams lined up:Paços de Ferreira:
Peçanha, Mangualde, Geraldo, Luiz Carlos, Fredy, Dani, Paulo Sousa, Pedrinha, Edson (Cristiano 86), Didi (Emerson 90), Ronny (João Paulo 70).
Boavista:
William, Lucas, Ricardo Silva, Cissé, Fernando Dinis (Fary 82), Paulo Sousa, Tiago (Grzelak 57), Kazmierczak, Ricardo Sousa (Hugo Monteiro 68), José Manuel, Linz.FC Porto and Benfica
have been sniping at each other over the barricades following Saturday's clássico. FC Porto posted a notice on the club's official website in which Benfica are accused of violence. At one point, the piece reads: "
Anderson [who was later found to have broken his leg] was intentionally targeted by a Greek
[Katsouranis]." In response on the club website, Benfica deny any intention on the part of Katsouranis, and accuse FC Porto of "xenophobia". Meanwhile, FC Porto are to report Benfica's director of Football
José Veiga for some allegedly obscene gestures to the crowd after Benfica's second goal, Benfica returning the ball with a report on incidents in the tunnel after the game. 30/10/06
Sporting Braga fell off the pace at the top of the Liga Sunday with some woeful defending and a 1-4 home defeat to a surprising
Marítimo, playing their best football so far. Unmarked Gregory headed in from a free-kick on four minutes to get the Madeiran side off to a flying start, and on 23 Mbesuma
got between three defenders to hit home and extend their lead. If it was always going to be an uphill struggle from there for Braga, they had a mountain to climb six minutes into the second half when
Maurício saw a red card for a nasty foul on Evaldo. Three minutes later, Marítimo made it three, Marcinho
driving home from the edge of the area after the ball had only been half cleared, and just a couple of minutes after that it was four, Alex
once again quicker to the ball than the Braga defence from a free kick. The same player blotted his copy book on 66 minutes, getting a red card for stopping Maciel, who would have been through on goal. Braga did get a consolation seven minutes from time,
Cesinha heading in at the near post, but it was far too little, far too late. Braga slip to fourth, Marítimo jump to sixth. Surprise team of the season so far, Naval, took advantage of Braga's
slip-up and sneaked into third place with a 1-1 draw at traditionally difficult Nacional. It was the home side that took the lead on 14 minutes through Rodrigo, but Tiago Fraga
equalised on 33. Nacional are eighth. Estrela da Amadora returned to their Estádio José Gomes after work to it, and celebrated the occasion with their first win of the season, 1-0 to
Vitória de Setúbal, which takes them off the bottom of the table. Paulo Sérgio was the man on target, ten minutes from time. Now Desportivo das Aves
occupy bottom spot after their fifth consecutive defeat, this time at home to Belenenses, whose first away win this was. Dady
got the only goal on 65 minutes, following up his own shot that had been blocked by Paulo Musse in the Aves goal. Polish striker Slusarski gave União de Leiria a 2-0 home win over
Académica Saturday, the goals coming ten minutes before the break and ten minutes before the end. União climb to seventh. 29/10/06
FC Porto went clear at the top of the table Saturday with a thrilling 3-2 home win in the clássico against eternal rivals Benfica. Porto got off to a blinding start
and were two up within 20 minutes, Lisandro Lopes deflecting a Postiga shot past the wrong-footed Quim for the first, and Quaresma
cutting inside Nélson on the left and curling a shot inside the far post for the second. But if Porto fans were rubbing their hands at the prospect of a massacre, it was not to be – Benfica held Porto to
the two goals at half time and battled back in the second half. Katsouranis
powered in at the near post to head home a corner on 62 minutes, and in the move of the game, Nuno Gomes lunged in to knock the ball past Hélton after sub Mantorras and Nélson had combined, the latter crossing low from the right.
Then just as Benfica fans were prematurely celebrating an historic comeback, Porto got a winner on the stroke of time, their sub Bruno Morães
heading in after confusion caused in the Benfica defence by a Fucile throw in. FC Porto are two points ahead of Sporting, while Benfica
are six points behind but with a game in hand. A piece of bad news for Porto was the ankle injury on the half hour of midfielder Anderson, who was just back from another injury. The Brazilian prodigy is doubtful
fo the Champions League game against Hamburg Wednesday. The teams lined up: FC Porto:
Helton, Fucile, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Marek Cech, Paulo Assunção (Bruno Moraes 83), Lucho Gonzalez, Anderson (Raul Meireles 30), Lisandro Lopez, Hélder Postiga, Ricardo Quaresma (Tarik 73).
Benfica:
Quim, Nélson, Luisão, Ricardo Rocha, Léo, Petit, Katsouranis, Paulo Jorge (Nuno Assis 53), Nuno Gomes, Simão, Kikin Fonseca (Mantorras 61).
28/10/11
It's a given that the smaller clubs in any league will raise their game against the big clubs, and that's exactly what happened Friday when Beira-Mar snatched a point in a 3-3
thriller at home to table-toppers Sporting. It was Beira-Mar's first point after four straight defeats, while Sporting dropped two and could fall behind FC Porto if the reigning champions beat Benfica in
Saturday's clássico.Beira-Mar put in a battling performance, their best of the season, and took a first-half lead through Cameroonian central defender Buba, who was ultimately to be a
surprising man of the match. Sporting coach Paulo Bento made changes in the second half, and they bore fruit as first Alecsandro, taking advantage of a fluff by 'keeper Alê on 57 minutes, and then
Yannick
on 81, knocking home a Tello cut-back from the line, gave Sporting the lead. Beira-Mar coach Augusto Inácio brought on Mário Jardel to face his old club on 80 minutes, and five minutes later he was involved in the equaliser: he lost his marker in text-book fashion from a free-kick and headed goalwards, Ricardo parrying, only for
Buba to follow up and bundle in his second. A minute from time, Liedson
netted from a Carlos Martins cross and it looked all over. But deep into added time, Beira-Mar forced a corner and Sporting's defence was all at sea as the ball found its way through to that man again, Buba, who
had all the time in the world to rifle it past a helpless Ricardo for his hat-trick. The teams lined up: Beira-Mar:
Alê, Ricardo, Marco, Buba, Tininho, Diakité, Torrão (André Leão 68), Luciano Ratinho (Jardel 81), Rui Lima, Vasco Matos, Jorge Leitão (Wegno 75).
Sporting:
Ricardo, Abel, Tonel, Polga, Tello, Paredes (Nani, 75), Farnerud (Carlos Martins 46), João Moutinho, Romagnoli (Djaló 46), Alecsandro, Liedson. 26/10/06
The FC Porto v Benfica clássico
on Saturday looks set to be a sell out; only a little over 3,000 tickets remained to be sold Wednesday. The game, always controversial, has two areas of contestation so far this time: no one appears to be satisfied with the choice of
Lucilio Baptista to referee the game, and Porto have declined to allocate any tickets to Benfica because the Lisbon club did not put in their application in time. On the bright side, the game will mark
Simão Sabrosa's 200th league game for Benfica 24/10/06 Naval and Sporting Braga mucked up each other's chance of going to the top of the Liga
along wth Sporting and FC Porto by drawing 1-1 Monday. Central defender Maurício put Braga in front from a corner on 37 minutes, and Nei gave the home side a point on 90. The teams lined up:
Naval: Taborda, Mário Sérgio, Paulão (Tony 82), Fernando, China; Gilmar, Orestes, Pedro Santos (Cazarine 58), Fajardo (Saulo 72), Nei, Lito.
Sporting Braga:
Paulo Santos, Luís Filipe, Paulo Jorge (Irineu 43), Maurício, Carlos Fernandes, Vandinho, Andrés Madrid, Frechaut (Bruno Gama 28), João Pinto (Castanheira 60), Marcel, 23/10/06
A tense, even but not very pretty clássico at Alvalade ended in Sporting drawing 1-1 with FC Porto
Sunday. Sporting had most of the play in the first half and went ahead just before the break, an unmarked Yannick heading calmly home a Nani cross from the left. The lead lasted just during the half-time break,
Quaresma, booed throughout on his return to Alavalade, volleying home from inside the area on 47 minutes after Ricardo had flapped a ballooning ball out to him. The two clubs remain equal top.
The teams lined up:Sporting : Ricardo, Caneira (Miguel Garcia 76), Tonel, Polga, Tello, Custódio, Paredes (Alecsandro 63), João Moutinho, Nani
(Carlos Martins 51), Yannick, Liedson. FC Porto:
Helton, Fucile, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Cech, Raul Meireles, Paulo Assunção (Jorginho 45), Lucho Gonzalez, Lisandro Lopez (Diogo Valente 70), Hélder Postiga, Quaresma (Bruno Moraes 76). Earlier, Benfica
had gone behind to a Dário header against the run of play on 13 minutes at home to Estrela da Amadora (only their second goal all season) but eventually turned the game around to win 3-1 with goals from
Miccoli on the half hour, tapping in a low Katsouranis cross, a penalty from captain Simão on 53 and a header from sub Karyaka
on the stroke of time. Estrela's Pedro Simões and Rui Duarte both go red cards in the second half, but so did Miccoli, who will miss Benfica's trip to FC Porto next weekend. The teams lined up: Benfica: Quim, Nelson, Ricardo Rocha, Luisão, Léo, Petit, Katsouranis (Karyaka 69), Nuno Assis (Beto 88), Simão, Miccoli, Nuno Gomes. Estrela da Amadora:
Paulo Lopes, Tony, Pedro Simões, Fonte, Amoreirinha, Jordão, Edu Silva (Rui Duarte 63), Marco Paulo, Jaime (Rui Borges 46), Dário (Tiago Gomes 60), Jones. Vitória de Setúbal
took the lead at home to União de Leiria with an Amuneke goal on the half hour, but Paulo Gomes equalised before the break and Slusarski
gave União the points on 52 minutes. União right back Éder was sent off for the second time this season. Académica got their first win of the season, 2-0 over Desportivo das Aves
in Coimbra. Miguel Pedro got the first early on, and Danilo clinched the win on 65 minutes. Beira-Mar continue to struggle, going down 2-1 to Marítimo in Madeira.
Mbesuma on 56 minutes and José Gomes five minutes from time put Marítimo in the driving seat, with Wegno getting a consolation near the end for Beira-Mar. 22/10/06
Boavista crashed to a 0-4 home defeat to Nacional Saturday. It was the return to the Bessa of coach Carlos Brito, deemed dispensable at the end of last season. His revenge started early:
Rodrigo cracking in an overhead kick at the back post on just three minutes. Within a quarter of an hour Nacional were two up, Rodrigo this time crossing to the heart of the area where an unmarked José Victor
had all the time in the world to place his header. Boavista had a prime opportunity to reduce the deficit two minutes later after Patacas handled in the area, but Boavista's top scorer Linz smashed the penalty too near Diego, who diverted it onto the left-hand post and the ball was bundled away.
The second half started just as disastrously for Boavista, left back Mário Silva sent off on 48 for a second yellow card (William should have had a red a short time before with an outrageous stamp on Rodrigo). Ten
minutes into the half, Nacional were three up, an excellent flowing move finishing with Patacas
doing a Carlos Alberto from the 1970 World Cup. It was the signal for some Boavista supporters to bring out their white handkerchiefs and others in the sparse crowd to make for the exits, including club president João Loureiro. He missed the fourth goal on 69 minutes, central defender
Cissé putting through his own goal for the second match in a row. Nacional climb to fifth on 12 points, Boavista are 11th with just seven points from their seven games. Coach Petrovic
will be looking over his shoulder and waiting now for the axe to fall; in Portugal, patience is not a common quality in club fans and presidents. The teams lined up: Boavista:
William, Bessa (Ricardo Sousa, 32m), Cissé, Tambussi, Mário Silva, Lucas, Tiago, Kazmierczak, José Manuel, Linz (Fary 71), Grzelak (Fernando Dinis 57)
Nacional:
Diego,; Patacas, Ricardo Fernandes, Cardozo, Alonso, Bruno Amaro, Chainho, Bruno (Juliano 62), José Vítor, Rodrigo (Chilikov 79), Pateiro (Bruno Basto 71) 21/10/06
The seventh jornada of the Liga got under way Friday, with Belenenses beating Paços de Ferreira 2-0
for their second win of the season; it was Paços' second defeat. It was a classic 'game of two halves', with Belenenses having most of the play in the first 45 minutes and taking advantage of that to get their two goals. Both came from dead ball situations, both were as a result of fouls on Cândido Costa, and both were scored by midfielder
José Pedro. On 16 minutes he netted from the spot, and on 39 he hoisted a free-kick towards goal from way out on the right, the ball hit the turf and the forward spin took it past Peçanha and into the top
left-hand corner, although the Brazilian 'keeper did get his fingertips to it. Paços had most of the play in the second half, but were ineffectual in the final third. The game was watched by no more than a few hundred
diehards; a growing problem in the Portuguese game. The teams lined up:Belenenses:
Costinha, Sousa, Gaspar, Nivaldo, Rodrigo Alvim, Rúben Amorim, José Pedro, Silas, Cândido Costa (Sandro Gaúcho 71), Dady (Roma 78), Eliseu (Rolando 85).
Paços de Ferreira:
Peçanha, Mangualde, Luiz Carlos, Geraldo, Fredy (Pedrinha 67), Paulo Sousa, Elias (Edson 42), Dani, Didi, Ronny (João Paulo 54), Cristiano. Sunday's clássico between Sporting and FC Porto
is beginning to heat up. It was announced Friday that 600 police officers will be on duty in and around the ground for the game that begins at 20.30 local time. Meanwhile, next weekend will also have a
clássico: FC Porto v Benfica will be on Saturday 28/10 at 19.45, as confirmed by the Liga de Clubes Friday. 17/10/06 Surprise side of the season so far,
Naval (of Figueira da Foz, in the centre of the country) closed the 6th jornada of the Liga with a deserved 1-0 win at irregular Boavista. French central defender Cissé
headed into his own goal from a cross on 77 minutes, and Boavista´s Hélder Rosário
was sent off a minute later for lashing out at Nei. Naval join Sporting Braga on 13 points, two behind FC Porto and Sporting, while Boavista remain a disappointing 10th. The teams lined up:
Boavista: William, Hélder Rosário, Ricardo Silva (Marcos António 89), Cissé, Mário Silva; Lucas, Tiago, Kazmierczak (Fary 69), José Manuel, Linz, Ricardo Sousa (Zairi 52).
Naval: Taborda, Mário Sérgio, Paulão, Fernando, China, Pedro Santos (Tony, 66), Orestes, Gilmar; Fajardo (João Ribeiro 90), Nei, Lito. 16/10/06 Sporting
joined FC Porto on 15 points at the top of the Liga Sunday with a 1-0 win that by its narrow margin belied their overall domination over bottom club Estrela da Amadora
but was true to their inability to create many openings. In fact it was a central defender from a dead ball situation that finally broke the deadlock, Tonel
heading in from a Romagnoli corner on the stroke of half time. Sporting meet Porto in the season's first clássico
next Saturday, but in between, both sides have Champions League duty, both against German sides: Porto against Hamburg, Sporting against Bayern Munich. Bayern will have no fears unless Sporting can raise their game in relation to the damp squib that was this performance.
It was made damper by a tremendous thunderstorm that rolled over the Estoril coast, where Estrela, their ground improvment still not complete, borrowed a stadium off Estoril Praia. Estrela, who have
just one goal and one point from six games, once again showed that they are not a patch on the exciting little side that caused some upsets last season. The teams lined up:
Estrela da Amadora: Paulo Lopes, Tony, José Fonte, Wescley (Edu Silva 46), Amoreirinha; Jordão, Tiago Gomes (Dário 63), Rui Borges (Luís Loureiro 63); Jaime, Jones, Marco Paulo.
Sporting: Ricardo; Abel, Polga, Tonel, Ronny (Caneira 74); Paredes; Romagnoli (Carlos Martins 46), João Moutinho, Nani; Carlos Bueno (Custódio 74), Liedson.Nacional
of Madeira continue to improve after a shaky start to the season, beating Belenenses 2-1 at home, their third victory in a row. Ricardo Fernandes
headed in an Alonso cross on 17 minutes to put Nacional ahead, Ruben Amorim equalised for Belenenses three minutes later, and Bruno Amaro
shot from the edge of the area to give the black-and-whites all three points. Nacional move up to 6th, Belensenses are 12th. Vitória de Setúbal travelled to Aves and beat the local side 2-1, leaving
Desportivo second from bottom. All the goals came in a twenty minute period in the second half, Lourenço putting Vitória in front on 57 minutes, Sérgio Carvalho equalising for Aves on the hour, with
Bruno Ribeiro getting the winner on 82. Académica got a point at Paços de Ferreira but remain third from bottom. Miguel Pedro gave them the lead on 26 minutes, but Luís Carlos
equalised for Paços from the spot, three minutes from time. The final game of the 6th jornada is Boavista v Naval, Monday. 15/10/06 The two Grandes
in action Saturday had comfortable wins. First up, FC Porto beat Marítimo 3-0
at the Antas. The Madeiran side held out until 35 minutes, but then Lisandro Lopes found central defender Pepe marauding up the right. The Brazilian made the line and cut the ball back for Hélder Postiga
to crack it in first time at the near post. Postiga was involved in the second, too, on 63 minutes, fouled by Gregory for Lucho González
to score from the spot. The controversial penalty knocked the wind out of Marítimo's resistance, and it was Porto that scored again five minutes from time, Anderson putting that man again Postiga
through, the Portuguese international placing a neat cross shot into the far corner. The win takes Porto back to the top. The teams lined up: FC Porto:
Helton, Bosingwa (Ricardo Costa 46), Pepe, Bruno Alves, Ma rek Cech, Raul Meireles (Bruno Moraes 77), Lucho Gonzalez, Anderson, Ricardo Quaresma, Hélder Postiga, Lisandro Lopez (Paulo Assunção 60).
Marítimo:
Marcos, Zé Gomes, Gregory, Milton, Briguel (Kanu 46), Neca (Filipe Oliveira 69), André Barreto, Fernando Silva (Wénio 46), Evaldo, Marcinho, Lipatin.
If Porto
's morale will be lifted ahead of this week's Champions League duel against Hamburg, then Benfica's will have gone through the roof before their game in Glasgow against Celtic. The Águias
have been struggling to find their form, but it all seemed to come right at Leiria, especially in an excellent first half in which they finally looked like a team with spirit and ideas. It was Benifca's first away win, and União's first home defeat.
Benfica created various chances before they opened the scoring on the half-hour, Katsouranis and Simão working the ball to Miccoli
on the edge of the area, the diminutive Italian chipping delicately over Fernando, off his line, for his first goal of the season. It was Miccoli
again that put the game effectively beyond União just before the break, Simão making the line on the left to cut back for Nuno Gomes, whose lay-off was clipped home by the former Juventus forward. União's woes were compounded on the hour, Nélson striding down the right and crossing low for
Nuno Gomes to swivel and crack the ball home. The 4-0 rout was complete six minutes later, Simão
netting from the spot after a hand-ball. The rest of the game was notable only for Fernando Santos resting some players before the trip to Glasgow, and União fighting to limit the damage. The teams lined up:
União de Leiria: Fernando, Laranjeiro, Marcos António, Valdomiro, Tixier; Paulo Gomes, Harison (Ivanildo 63), Faria (Alhandra 77), Cadu (Paulo Machado 46), Paulo César, Sougou.
Benfica:
Quim. Nélson, Luisão, Ricardo Rocha. Léo. Nuno Assis, Petit, Katsouranis (Beto 72), Simão (Miguelito 80); Nuno Gomes (Kikin Fonseca 72), Miccoli.
14/10/06
Sporting Braga kicked off the 6th jornada of the Liga with a 3-0 win at Beira-Mar which takes them provisionally top. Near post headers from Paulo Jorge
on two minutes and Wender on 56, from a free-kick and a cross, respectively, put the game beyond Beira-Mar, whose best chances fell to Mário Jardel on an off day. Ricardo Chaves
put the seal on the victory with a cracking volley from a Wender cross on 71 minutes.The teams lined up: Beira-Mar:
Danrlei, Marco, Jorge Silva, Alcaraz, Ribeiro (Vasco Matos 18), Diakité, Emerson (Wegno 60), Luciano Ratinho (André Leão 77), Tininho, Rui Lima, Jardel.
Sporting Braga:
Paulo Santos, Luís Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Nem, Carlos Fernandes, Hugo Leal (Frechaut 62), Andrés Madrid, João Pinto (Ricardo Chaves 53), Maciel (José Carlos 72), Marcel, Wender.
03/09/06 FC Porto lost their 100% Liga record Monday, going down 1-2 at rain-lashed Braga. Marcel
got his first goal of the season on 23 minutes, finishing off a Wender cross with a crisp drive, to put Sporting Braga ahead, but then three minutes from half time, Hélder Postiga
at the far post headed in a Quaresma cross. Ten minutes into the second half, Braga went in front through full back Luís Filipe, and they spent most of the rest of the game with their backs to the wall. This was
Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira's return to Braga, who he left in the close season. The teams lined up: Sporting Braga:
Paulo Santos, Luís Filipe, Paulo Jorge, Nem (Maurício 82), Carlos Fernandes, Ricardo Chaves, Andrés Madrid, Castanheira (João Pinto 54), Maciel, Marcel, Wender (Cesinha 54).
FC Porto:
Helton, Bosingwa, Pepe, Bruno Alves, Ezequias (Alan 76); Paulo Assunção (Lisandro Lopez 30), Lucho Gonzalez, Anderson, Raul Meireles, Ricardo Quaresma (Vieirinha 71), Hélder Postiga.Sporting
join Porto on top spot with 12 points (ahead of Naval and Sporting Braga on ten) after beating União de Leiria 2-0 at Alvalade. Nani on 33 minutes and Liedson
with his first goal of the season, from the spot, on 56 separated the sides. União full back Éder got a red card twenty minutes from time. The teams lined up: Sporting:
Ricardo, Abel, Polga, Tonel, Caneira; Nani, Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho (João Alves 84), Tello (Paredes 59), Alecsandro (Yannick 59), Liedson.
União de Leiria:
Fernand, Éder, Marcos António, Valdomiro, Tixier, Harison, Paulo Gomes (Paulo Machado 59), Faria, Sougou, Paulo César (Slusarski 67), N'Gal (Ivanildo 35).
Paços de Ferreira snatched a 1-1
draw at Vitória de Setúbal. Mário Carlos gave Vitória the lead on 26 minutes, but Ronny
equalised a quarter of an hour from the end. Paços were down to ten men after just 15 minutes, Emerson sent off. The ehad count was evened up on 55 with the expulsion of Sandro, and then Paços were back 'in front' five minutes from time whyen João Paulo saw red.
The teams lined up: Vitória de Setúbal:
João Paulo, Janício, Veríssimo (Fonseca 25), Auri, Bruno Ribeiro, Binho, Sandro, Mário Carlos (Nandinho 59), Labarthe (Julien 73), Amuneke, Varela.
Paços de Ferreira:
Peçanha;,Mangualde, Emerson, Geraldo, Fredy, Pedrinha (Edson 56), Paulo Sousa, Dani, Renato Queirós (João Paulo 61), Ronny (Antunes 82), Didi.
02/09/06
Benfica eased some of the pressure on coach Fernando Santos Sunday with an emphatic 4-1 win over Desportivo das Aves. It was pretty even until half-time: Paulo Jorge
headed in on 19 minutes, but Filipe Anunciação equalised on 27 with a speculative shot that Quim fumbled and let squirm in. It was a different story in the second half, with Rui Costa on for Katsouranis.
Nuno Gomes placed a neat header on 50 minutes to restore Benfica's lead, Simão got a third from the spot on 63 after William had handled, and Karagounis
curled a free kick into the top left hand corner a minute from time. The handkerchiefs that had been waved at the end of the home defeat against Manchester United in the week were left in pockets this time.
The teams lined up: Benfica: Quim, Nélson, Luisão, Ricardo Rocha, Miguelito; Katsouranis (Rui Costa 46); Paulo Jorge, Karagounis, Simão (Nuno Assis 73), Miccoli (Kikin Fonseca 82), Nuno Gomes.
Desportivo das Aves: Rui Faria, Sérgio Carvalho, William, Sérgio Nunes, Anilton, Filipe Anunciação, Vítor Manuel (Mércio 69), Nené; Dill (Freddy 52), Hernâni (Jocivalter 79), Xano.
Académica
have been struggling so far this season, and Sunday was no different. They lost 1-3 at home to Nacional, Académica coach Manuel Machado's old team. Académica were in front on eight minutes through Dame
, but just before half time, Litos handled in the area and Bruno equalised. Around the hour mark, it all went wrong for Académica: Adriano put Nacional ahead, Litos was sent off, and Pateiro
extended the lead. Académica were reduced to nine five minutes from time when Medeiros was also sent off. Académica are third from bottom, but rock bottom are Estrela da Amadora
with just one point from five games. They lost again Sunday, 1-2 at Marítimo. Dário put Estrela in front on the hour, and they held their lead until seven minutes from time when first Mbesuma
then Lipatin turned it around for Marítimo. 01/10/06 Boavista brought all three points back from Belenenses Saturday with a 2-0
win, constructed in the first half. On just three minutes, Austrian striker Linz
got his fourth of the season, rifling home a loose ball at the back post that was badly cleared by an edgy Belenenses defence. And the same Linz was part of a one-two that Zé Manuel
sprinted onto on 35, beating Gaspar for pace and cracking his shot past the oncoming Costinha. The second half saw Belenenses piling on the pressure but coming up against a veritable wall in Boavista's defence, with centre backs Cissé and especially Ricardo Silva shining. The home 'keeper Costinha was barely troubled after the break, and for all Belenenses' pressure, neither really was William in the other goal. Belenenses have not been able to beat Boavista on their own ground since 1994.
The teams lined up: Belenenses:
Costinha, Sousa (Pinheiro 81), Gaspar, Nivaldo, Rodrigo Alvim; Ruben Amorim, Mancuso, Cândido Costa, Roma (Dady 46), Silas; Manoel (Eliseu 32).
Boavista:
William, Hélder Rosário, Ricardo Silva, Cissé, Mário Silva (Fernando Dinis 59); Lucas, Tiago, Kazmierczak, José Manuel (Essame 83); Linz, Ricardo Sousa (Grzelak 64).
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