Portuguese Soccer for Foreigners

Sunday, April 16, 2006

FC Porto almost champion

After a 1-0 win over União Leiria on friday, FC Porto is one win away from becoming portuguese champions.
The game against Leiria was very tactical and there weren't too many chances to score, but FC Porto eventually made it scoring on the end of the first half by brazilian striker Adriano.
Sporting lisbon was fighting for the title but didn't make better than a 0-0 draw against Estrela Amadora, giving FC Porto the chance to win the Portuguese League next weekend when they face relegated FC Penafiel.
Sporting will also have to be aware for the come-back of Benfica. Benfica won their game against Boavista and are now only 2 points behind Sporting Lisbon, fighting for the second place spot, that will give direct access to the Champions League.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Benfica out of the Champions League

Benfica is out of the Champions League after a 2-0 loss against FC Barcelona on the second hand of the quarter-finals.
Barcelona wasn't so dominating as it was last week but eventually scored on the 19th minute by Ronaldinho, the same player who missed a penalty-kick early in the game. After the goal the game went one way until the end of first half.
The second half brought a renewed Benfica eagger to score at least once and they almost did that when Simão Sabrosa missed a clear shot right in the face of Victor Valdes. Benfica intensified the attack and Barcelona took advantage using the counter-attack scoring in the last minute by Samuel Eto'o.
Now Barcelona will be playing in the semi-finals against Milan AC in an antecipated final.
Reference also to the yellow card to Deco that will prevent him from playing the first leg. On the other side there will be Rui Costa.

Monday, April 03, 2006

Everything's the same at the top

The top 4 teams have won their fixtures this weekend!
Braga won their duel against UEFA CUP place contenders Nacional 1-0 with a goal from Delibasic, who is returning from injury.
Sporting eventually got a 1-0 win at Guimarães in a very difficult game where Liedson proved once again he's the best striker in Portugal.
Benfica won their Lisbon derby against Belenenses after a very poor game. Miccoli and Karagounis made the goals in a game where the referee also took part in making the victory easier after refusing to signal 2 penalties against Benfica.
FC Porto won their home game against Gil Vicente 3-0, scoring at the end of the first half by Marek Cech, and on the second half by Quaresma from a penalty kick and Ibson in the end of the game. Gil Vicente ended the game with 9 players.
Next week clash between FC Porto and Sporting CP will most likely be decisive to discover the new champion with only 4 games missing until the end of the season.