Benfica continue run for top spot

Benfica continued their climb towards league leaders Porto with a convincing 2-0 victory over visiting Pacos Ferreira who have lost every game at the Estadio da Luz dating back to 2001.

Benfica opened the scoring when a beautiful Pablo Aimar run was converted by the talented midfielder with a high shot to the corner and Benfica had a 1-0 lead 14 minutes into the game. Alan Kardec made it 2-0 in the second half when he converted a penalty kick.

Benfica now trail Porto by four points with the latter with a game in hand.

Porto crush Leiria to continue run at top

Porto continue their fine form this season with a convincing victory over Uniao de Leiria in Portuguese League play. The Dragons remain undefeated in Portugal and are once again seven points clear of second place Benfica after Week 8.

Porto wasted no time opening the scoring as Hulk chipped the ball over the Leiria keeper at the 13 minute mark. Hulk then made it 2-0 just five minutes later tapping in a Falcao pass. Porto made it 3-0 before the half as Varela turned the Leiria defense inside and his low shot caught the far right corner.

The second half continued in Porto's favour as the stretched their lead to four goals just four minutes into the second half when Falcao's header hit the twine. Leiria got one of their own as Carlao converted a penalty kick in the 71st minute but Porto restored the four goal lead three minutes later as Hulk and Falcao playing the give and go with the latter scoring his second of the game.

Porto now get set to take travel to Coimbra to take on Academica as they hope to continue their undefeated run to the season.

Portugal set to take on Chile in friendly

Portugal are set to take on Chile in a friendly on March 25/11, the game is to be played in Lisbon but a stadium has yet to be selected for the date. The Portuguese Federation has also let it be known that they will have a rematch in Chile sometime after the 2014 World Cup

Benfica take it on the chin in France

Benfica traveled to France in Champions League action to take on Lyon and took it on the chin again in the Group Stage for the second time in a row by the same score that they lost to Schalke 2-0.

Benfica started the game without the services of both Oscar Cardozo and Ruben Amorim and fell behind 21 minutes into the game when Jimmy Briand headed home the ball out of the reach of keeper Roberto.

The game got worse for Benfica when Gaitan was handed his second yellow card of the game just before the half, earning the Benfica player a red card and bringing Benfica down to 10 men on the field.

Then Lyon sealed the deal when former Porto striker Lisandro Lopez tapped in a scramble in front of the Benfica net at the 51st minute mark and Benfica were unable to recover.

Benfica currently sit in third spot in their Group but do play two out of their last three remaining games at home, with the next game on November 2nd in a rematch at the Luz against Lyon.

Braga earn first Champions League victory

Braga after being outscored 0-9 in their first two Champions League games have earned their first ever victory in the competition with a sounding 2-0 win over visiting Partizan Belgrade.

Braga opened the scoring in the first half when a Lima free kick from outside the box was placed perfecting inside the top right corner and out of the reach of the Partizan's keeper Stojkovic's hands.

Braga held onto the lead and Felipe made a key stop in the 76th minute on Tomic before Matheus added the crushing blow just at the 90th minute mark when he tapped in a Luis Aguair pass into the empty net.

Braga now sit in third place in the group with three games remaining and now will travel to Serbia for a rematch with Partizan on November 3rd, where the hope to repeat their performance.

Nuno Gomes looking to hang them up at end of season

Benfica striker Nuno Gomes looks set to hang up his cleats at the end of the season as the 34 year old looks to move on from soccer in a move that could see the fan favourite move into some type of role with the club. The # 21 has played 287 games in the Eagles jersey scoring 121 times, he also had stints in his career with Boavista and Fiorentina totalling 132 games and an additional 37 goals.

Nuno Gomes has had the pleasure of representing his country for the National Squad 77 times, chipping in 29 goals and having the honour of being named to the Euro 2000 All Star squad after scoring 4 goals in the tournament. Gomes was also a member of the squad that made the Final of Euro 2004 scoring one of the country's most important goals as they defeated Spain 1-0 to move on from the Group Stage.

Miguel Veloso will be out of action for six weeks with injury

Portugal National Team player and Genoa midfielder Miguel Veloso with be sidelined up to six weeks with an ankle injury which was suffered in an Italian league match against Bari.

Paulo Bento announces squad for Euro 2012 qualifiers

Paulo Bento has announced his first squad after taking over for Carlos Queiroz as Portugal look to get back on track in their Euro 2012 campaign. Portugal will host Denmark October 8 and then travel to Iceland four days later.

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Genoa), Rui Patricio (Sporting), Beto (FC Porto)

Defenders: Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Joao Pereira (Sporting), Bruno Alves (Zenit), Rolando (FC Porto), Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid), Pepe (Real Madrid), Silvio (Braga)

Midfielders: Raul Meireles (Liverpool), Carlos Martins (Benfica), Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Joao Moutinho (FC Porto), Paulo Machado (Toulouse), Miguel Veloso (Genoa)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Nani (Man United), Danny (Zenit), Liedson (Sporting), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Varela (FC Porto), Helder Postiga (Sporting)