Sporting back on track after big win over Porto

Sporting get a big victory over FC Porto in Lisbon this evening moving them back into 4th spot in the Portuguese League, Porto now sit nine points behind league leaders Benfica in third spot. Sporting opened the scoring early in the game when Djalo put Sporting ahead at the six minute mark with a low shot that went past Helton. Izmailov then doubled Sporting's lead just before the end of the half when his low shot just got past Porto's keeper into the left corner. Veloso cemented the game for Sporting when he got the rebound from a Liedson shot that went off the post and sent his shot into the Porto net. Porto was unable to break the Sporting defense the rest of the way and Sporting went on to the 3-0 victory.

In other Action, Pacos Ferreira defeated Setubal in a shootout 5-3, William with a pair, Danielson, Pizzi and Maykon scoring for Pacos with Keita, Helder Barbosa and Regula replying for Setubal. Rio Ave got a first half goal from Wires to defeat Academica 1-0.

Benfica, Braga win to continue fight for top spot

Benfica answered Braga's earlier victory in the day with a victory of their own to stay ahead of Braga by one point in Portuguese League play. Benfica opened the scoring when Eder Luis scored his first goal as a member of Benfica in the first half after a shot just curled into the far right post and Benfica entered the half up 1-0. The second half was all Benfica and all Angel Di Maria as the youngster scored not one, not two but three goals for the Eagles and picked up his first hat trick of his young career. The first marker had Di Maria flying down the left side and his shot was mishandled by the Leixoes keeper, then Di Maria chipped a shot over the attacking keeper and finally he rounded out his scoring with a beauty to the top center corner from about 25 yards out, the result, Benfica defeat Leixoes 4-0.

Earlier today Braga continued their chase of Benfica with a convincing 3-1 victory over Olhanense, Matheus, Evaldo and Meyong scored for Braga with Djalmir replying for Olhanense. Naval defeated Maritimo 2-1 when Marinho broke the deadlock with just under eight minutes left in the game, Hauw also scored for Naval, while Maritimo's lone marker came from Kleber

Rosters for Sporting-FC Porto clash

The rosters for tomorrow's clash at the Estadio Avalade have been announced for Sporting and FC Porto. Sporting look to get their Portuguese League campaign back on track while Porto continue in their quest to gain ground on league leaders Benfica.

Sporting Roster

Goalies- Rui Patricio, Tiago

Defense- D. Carrico, Polga, Tonel, Grimi, Joao Pereira, Abel

Midfielders- P. Mendes, Izmailov, M. Fernandez, Veloso, Pereirinha, Joao Moutinho, Adrien

Forwards- Liedson, Saleiro, Djalo

FC Porto Roster

Goalies- Helton, Beto

Defense- Fucile, Bruno Alves, Rolando, M. Lopes, A. Pereira, N. Coelho

Midfielders- Raul Meireles, T. Costa, Guarin, Belluschi, Valeri, Ruben Micael, C. Rodriguez, M. Gonzalvez

Forwards- Varela, Falcao

Guimaraes open Week 21 with a win

Guimaraes started off Week 21 with a victory over U. Leiria. Andrezinho converted a penalty kick in the 65th minute of the game to give the visiting side a 1-0 victory. Guimaraes moves temporarily into fourth spot in the Portuguese League.

Sporting join Benfica in Round of 16

Sporting have finally snapped a long losing streak with a victory in Europa League play over Everton. Sporting who went into the second leg trailing 2-1 had their fans on the edge of their seats until the Veloso gave them the lead at the 64th minute when he was sent in alone by Carlos Saleiro. Sporting then doubled their lead at the 77th minute when Pedro Mendes scored his first goal ever for Sporting, Mendes could not pick a better time. Matias Fernandez then gave Sporting its final goal in extra time when he ended up alone with Everton's keeper. Sporting will now move into the Round of 16 where they will face Atletico Madrid from Spain, with the legs taking place on March 11 and 18, while Benfica will face Marseille of France in the Round of 16 stage

Benfica move into Round of 16 in big way

Benfica have moved into the Round of 16 with a big home victory over Hertha Berlin in UEFA Europa League action. Pablo Aimar opened the scoring for Benfica on a nifty three way pass and play in the 25th minute and Benfica went into the first half up 1-0. Cardozo doubled the score for Benfica early in the second half when he headed in a Di Maria cross. Pablo Aimar then took a corner kick that ended up on the feet of Javi Garcia who made the game 3-0 at the 59th minute, three minutes later another Di Maria cross made its way to the feet of Cardozo who put his second of the game past the Hertha keeper to make the score 4-0 and that was all Benfica needed as they continue their fine home form this season

Academica add to Belenenses misery

Academica have added to Belenenses' misery as they handed the cellar dwellers another loss. Academica took only 23 minutes to take a 2-0 lead in the game over the home side on goals by Vouho and Berger. Belenenses got one back in the second half to cut the lead in half on a Yontcha marker but it was as close as they would get losing 2-1. Belenenses have not won in the Portuguese League since Week 2 action and will need to do so if they hope to avoid relegation this season as they sit five points behind the safe zone. Academica sit now in 11th place in the league after the victory

FC Porto send Braga a big message

FC Porto have sent a big message to Braga and the Portuguese League that the are still very much a part of the Championship run, Porto playing at the Dragao and hosting Braga, have not been talked about much around the league of late but they showed that they can never be counted out. Raul Meireles opened the scoring for Porto when he tapped in a cross into the Braga net, Alvaro Pereira scored from about 75 yards out, not a goal you would usually see get past Braga's Eduardo but it did on this day. Falcao made the game 3-0 Porto before the first half was over. The second half was not much different then the first with Falcao scoring once again off a corner kick, heading the ball past Eduardo. Belluschi rounded out the scoring for the Dragons with a hard low shot to the right corner. Alan did score for Braga in extra time but it was too little too late as Porto crushed Braga 5-1, Porto remain in third spot in the Portuguese League but now trail Braga by five points and Benfica by six with ten games left in the season and can we say that it has now become a three team race once again for the Portuguese crown?

In other action the road teams today where victorious as Pacos Ferreira defeated Rio Ave 2-1 on goals from William and Ricardo with Fabio Faria replying for the home side. Naval defeated Setubal 1-0 as Bolivia got the lone marker of the game

Green and White fans have no delight

Sporting had another disappointing performance against Olhanense today in the Algarve as the Lions were held to scoreless draw against another minnow in the Portuguese League and sit fourth for at least another week as the teams all close around them and are back twenty points from current league leaders Benfica with ten games remaining in the season. Sporting has already gone through one coaching change this season could another be coming soon as Sporting's poor play could see them fall right out of a spot in Europe next season.

In todays other matchup, Guimaraes moved into a tie for fifth spot with U. Leiria after defeating Lexioes 2-0, Guimaraes goals today came from Valdimoro and Rui Miguel

Madeira Derdy ends in a draw

Nacional and Maritimo continued their story Madeira Derby to kick start Week 20 of the Portuguese League. Maritimo managed to keep their home unbeaten streak alive against Nacional dating back to the 2002-03 season. Maritimo opened the scoring at the 33rd minute mark when Kleber got a rebound past the Nacional keeper. Nacional replied in the second half when Felipe Lopes headed in the ball off a corner kick. Nacional and Maritimo remain tied for sixth spot in the Portuguese League with ten games remaining on the schedule

Porto take first leg of a two leg clash against Arsenal

FC Porto have taken the first leg in the Round of 16 Champions League over Arsenal at the Dragao by a 2-1 score. Porto opened the scoring when a Varela cross at the 11th minute was misplayed by Arsenal keeper Fabianski and ended up in the back of the net, Arsenal evened the game quickly when Campbell headed in a corner at the 18th minute mark. The second half saw both clubs get their share of chances to take the lead with Helton turning away Bendtner and Fabianski turning away Ruben Micael but the Arsenal keeper committed another blounder at the 51st minute mark picking up a back pass from his defender, the free kick was quickly played by Ruben Micael, catching just about every Arsenal player asleep and Falcao tapped the ball into the back of the net past a stunned Arsenal squad. Porto held off Arsenal the rest of the way to earn the first leg victory and will head to Highbury looking to advance to the Quarter-Finals.

Sporting struggles continue in Europa League

Sporting's struggles continued today in the first leg of Europa League play as they went down to defeat in Liverpool to Everton 2-1. The Toffees jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second half on a goal by Distin at the 49th minute after Pienaar had given the hosts a 1-0 lead at half time. Sporting got a break late in the game as Distin was given a red card for a hard tackle in the box and Miguel Veloso converted from the penalty spot at the 87th minute to give Sporting some hope going home for the second leg. Sporting have now gone six matches without a victory with five of the games ending in defeat in all competitions, their last win came against Trofense in the Carlsberg Cup match January 24/10, this will need to change if Sporting look to advance out of the Round of 32

Braga win to continue chase for first

Braga continue to stay on Benfica's heels as the two tussle for first in the Portuguese League, Braga after a slow start got goals from Meyong and Luis Aguiar in the second half to defeat Maritimo 2-1 who's lone marker came from Djalma. Braga now trail Benfica by one point with a game in hand which will be made up next weekend when they visit the Dragao to take on third place and last seasons defending Champions Porto.

In other action, Nacional and Rio Ave battled to a 1-1 draw as Nacional's marker came from Oldoni and Rio Ave's from Wires. Academica and Olhanense also battled to a 1-1 draw, Academica's goal was scored by Tiero and Olhanense's by Djalmir. Setubal and Leiria also played to a draw in what was a high scoring game 3-3. Leiria's Cassio scored a pair with Ronny adding a single marker, while Setubal's Collin, Kazmierczak and Keita replied

Benfica extend lead atop Portugal

Benfica have extended their lead atop the Portuguese League with a 1-0 victory over basement dwellers Belenenses. Oscar Cardozo scored in the 9th minute converting a Ramires cross into the net with his head. Benfica now sit atop the Portuguese League by four points on Braga who have two games in hand on coming tomorrow against Maritimo.

FC Porto were held to a scoreless draw at Leixoes today while Sporting and Pacos Ferreira played to a scoreless draw yesterday

Benfica knock Sporting out of Cup again

Benfica traveled to Estadio Avalade to take on hosts Sporting in semifinal action of the Carlsberg Cup. The game did not start well for Sporting as Joao Pereira was given a red card for a hard challenge on Ramires, the free kick that ensued from Carlos Martins lead to a header by David Luiz to open the scoring in the 8th minute. Benfica made it 2-0 when Cesar Peixoto centered the ball into the box and Ramires tapped it in. Liedson then got one back for Sporting before the end of the first half on a shot from about 50 yards out that was just out of the reach of Julio Cesar. Benfica continued to pour it on in the second half and a corner kick by Carlos Martins was headed into the back of the net by Luisao. Cardozo then sealed the game, scoring for Benfica when his shot from about 60 yards could not be handled by Sporting's Patricio. Benfica look to defend their title from last season as they move into the Final awaiting the winner of tomorrow's game between FC Porto-Academica, while Sporting get knocked for the second time in a weeks time bowing out of the Taca De Portugal last week as well.

Braga win, moves them to within one

Braga get a big win over Belenenses on the road to move within one point of Benfica for top spot in the Portuguese with a game in hand. Braga after going down a man short in the first half scored three goals in a row, Paulo Cesar, Matheus and Rentaria scored the markers for Braga before Yontcha scored in extra time to get Belenenses on the scoreboard but it was too little too late as Braga got the win 3-1

Euro 2012 Groups drawn, Portugal in Group H

The Groups for Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine have been drawn today with Portugal placed in Group H, where they will lockhorns again with Denmark, 51 of the 53 UEFA member associations are taking part with both hosts automatically qualifying for the tournament. The Winners of each Group will automatically qulaify along with the best second place team. The other eight second place teams will play a knockout home and home game to see who obtains the final four spots.

The Groups for Euro 2012,

Group A- Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belguim, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan
Group B- Russia, Slovakia, Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra
Group C- Italy, Serbia, N. Ireland, Slovenia, Estonia, Faroe Islands
Group D- France, Romania, Bosnia, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg
Group E- Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Moldova, San Marino
Group F- Croatia, Greece, Isreal, Latvia, Georgia, Malta
Group G- England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Montenegro
Group H- PORTUGAL, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland
Group I- Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein

Week 18 unkind to Benfica and Sporting

Week 18 starts off very unkind to Lisbon clubs Benfica and Sporting as both clubs dropped points today. Sporting opened Week 18 at home with recent pick up Pedro Mendes in the lineup but it was Academica that struck first when Orlando's free kick from about 40m out took a funny bounce and went past Rui Patricio at the three minute mark, Sporting brought the game back to even when Joao Moutinho converted a Joao Pereira feed at the 22nd mark but Academica kept pressing and Joao Ribeiro gave his team a lead at the 58th minute mark that they would not relinquish as Academica hand Sporting a shock 2-1 defeat.

Benfica visited Setubal a team they handed a 8-1 thumping to in Week 3 action but Setubal would have none of this, this time around. Benfica opened the scoring when former central defender Zoro kneed the ball into his own net off a corner kick but David Luiz was quick to repay the favour as he miss kicked the ball past Quim to bring the game back even. The second half saw both clubs going back and forth with no one able to put the ball into the net but the biggest chance of the half came in the 90th + minute mark when Zoro took down Kardec in the box and Benfica was awarded a penalty kick but Cardozo sent the ball off the crossbar and Benfica were denied the full points with the game ending 1-1.

Benfica announce their nominations for Player of 2009

Benfica have nominated three players for their player of the year of 2009. The winner as chosen by Benfica members will be announced on February 25, 2010 at their 106 year gala event to be held at the Casino Estoril. The nominees for Benfica's player of the year for 2009 are, Pablo Aimar, Luisao and Oscar Cardozo. All Benfica members can visit Benfica's main page to vote for their choice from the three players.

Benfica beat up Leiria as they move into top spot

Benfica took it to Uniao Leiria today in a Portuguese League re-scheduled game from Week 21. Cardozo, Saviola and Ruben Amorim all scored for Benfica as they defeated Leiria 3-0 and moved into top spot in the Portuguese League by three points over Braga

Porto send Sporting packing with a thumping

FC Porto played host to Sporting at the Estadio Dragao in the Quarter Final of Taca de Portugal action. Porto's Rolando opened the scoring in the 18th minute from a corner kick before Izmailov brought the game back to even from a blast from about 25 yards off. Falcao then scored from outside the penalty box for his first goal of the game then added another from a header before the end of the first half which had Porto leading 3-1. The second half started in the worst possible way for Sporting when Varela's kick went in off the far post just three minutes. Mariano Gonzalvez then put Porto ahead 5-1 with a goal from outside the penalty area at the 58th minute. Liedson got one back for Sporting in the 90th+ minute but it was to little to late as Porto move on to the semi-finals awaiting to find out what other teams will join them tomorrow

Martimo end Week 17 with a victory

Maritimo and Leixoes finished off Week 17 at the Estadio do Mar, Leixoes jumped out to a quick lead when Hugo Morais opened the scoring four minutes into the match. The lead did not last long Diakite brough the game back to even at the ten minute mark, nine minutes later Maritimo went out in front with a Kleber marker and this lead was held the rest of the way. Maritimo defeat Leixoes 2-1 and moved themselves into 8th spot in the Portuguese League.