Indonesia
South Africa

Porto beat Benfica to keep title race alive

sportsmole.co.uk, 7 April 2023, 19:05
Porto have come from behind to beat bitter rivals Benfica 2-1 at the Estadio da Luz and keep the Primeira Liga title race alive.

The visitors arrived in Lisbon sitting 10 points adrift of their hosts and knowing that defeat in the latest edition of O Classico would effectively hand Benfica a first title since 2018-19.

Roger Schmidt's side looked to be on course to take another step towards the trophy when they took the lead through a Diogo Costa own goal after only 10 minutes, but Porto fought back with goals from Mateus Uribe and Mehdi Taremi either side of half time.

Despite the crucial victory, Porto remain seven points adrift of their opponents at the top of the table with only seven games of their season remaining.

It was no surprise to see in-form Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos heavily involved in the opener, with the striker planting a form header against the crossbar and see it rebound off the back of Costa and into the net.

That was as good as it got for the league leaders, though, as they produced an underwhelming performance just days before their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Porto's conquerors Inter Milan.

Schmidt's men also picked up an injury concern ahead of that match with Alexander Bah forced off midway through a first half which Porto turned on its head in the closing stages.

Sergio Conceicao's side levelled things up in the final minute of normal time before half time when Uribe fired a crisp strike into the bottom corner from Pepe's knockdown.

Galeno then netted a second three minutes into first-half stoppage time, although this time Porto's celebrations were cut short when VAR chalked it off for offside.

However, VAR could not save Benfica nine minutes into the second half when Taremi was afforded too much time on the edge of the area before picking out the bottom corner with a bobbling effort.

That proved to be the winning goal as Porto picked up a deserved three points, keeping them just about hanging on in the defence of their title.

Benfica, whose eight-match streak across all competitions comes to an end, will now hope to bounce back in time for Tuesday's Champions League showdown.

Top News

5 January 2025 talksport.com Former Southampton employee Hugo Scheckter has been forced to explain his viral video following 'threats of violence' after the club's 5-0 defeat to Brentford. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia will be aiming to avoid a surprise elimination from the Copa del Rey when they take on second-tier outfit Eldense in the last-32 stage of the competition on Monday night. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo has said that he is "talking with the club" about a new contract but refused to offer any guarantees when it comes to his long-term future at Camp Nou. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Napoli forward Victor Osimhen is reportedly determined to secure a move to Manchester United before the January transfer window closes for business, with the Red Devils said to be exploring a move. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is expected to be without 17-year-old gem Ethan Nwaneri for Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg at home to Newcastle United. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Bidding to make North London lightning strike twice in the space of four days, Newcastle United stop over at the Emirates on Tuesday evening to battle Arsenal in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's home Premier League contest with Manchester United is on, with the fixture between the two most successful clubs in English football going ahead as planned at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to book their spot in the final of the Spanish Super Cup when they tackle Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the competition on Wednesday night. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Josh Windass could be set to swap Sheffield Wednesday for Santos in a sensational January transfer, talkSPORT understands. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ipswich Town are reportedly on the verge of signing central defender Ben Godfrey on loan from Atalanta BC. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea reportedly remain keen to reach a financial agreement with Torino regarding the sale of Cesare Casadei. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Just 180 minutes away from a shot at silverware, Arsenal welcome Newcastle United to their Emirates home for the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final on Tuesday night. 5 January 2025 talksport.com Liverpool's Premier League clash with Manchester United is currently still set to go ahead on Sunday afternoon. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the permanent transfer of Czech Republic goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky from Slavia Prague in a deal worth a reported £12. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk AC Milan are reportedly considering a loan move for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Juventus are reportedly lining up a move for Manchester United defender Tyrell Malacia. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Premier League clash with bitter rivals Manchester United, scheduled for Sunday afternoon at Anfield, could allegedly be cancelled due to bad weather, with snow falling overnight in the Liverpool area. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The transfer window is open! Clubs around the UK and Europe have one final chance to strengthen their squads for the second half of the season. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Ourense CF vs. Valladolid (Sunday, 11.00am) La Liga's basement side Real Valladolid will be bidding to book their spot in the last-16 stage of the Copa del Rey when they head to third-tier outfit Ourense CF on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Kasimpasa vs. Gaziantep (Sunday, 10.30am) Kasimpasa will look to add more wins to their current unbeaten run when they host Gaziantep at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadyumu on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Santa Clara vs. Farense (Sunday, 3.30pm) High-flying Santa Clara welcome relegation-threatened SC Farense in gameweek 17 of the 2024-25 Primeira Liga season on Sunday at the Estadio de Sao Miguel. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Monza vs. Cagliari (Sunday, 11.30am) After both ended 2024 with four straight Serie A defeats, relegation rivals Monza and Cagliari will vie for victory in their year-opening fixture on Sunday. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Lens vs. Toulouse (Sunday, 2.00pm) Two sides in the hunt for a place in Europe next season resume their Ligue 1 campaigns on Sunday as Lens host Toulouse at Stade Bollaert-Delelis. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hibernian vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Rangers will aim to build on their superb 3-0 victory in the Old Firm Derby as they head to Easter Road Stadium on Sunday to face an in-form Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have agreed to recall Stefan Bajcetic from his loan at Red Bull Salzburg and send him back out in January, with Real Betis heavily linked to the midfielder. 5 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Queens Park Rangers will look to claim a second straight victory when they welcome Luton Town to Loftus Road for Monday's Championship clash. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's pursuit of left-back Julio Soler appears to have ended in failure, with Bournemouth reportedly in advanced talks with Argentine club Lanus for his signature this winter. 4 January 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly tabled an enormous £78m contract to Trent Alexander-Arnold in an attempt to stop the defender joining Real Madrid for free in the summer. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Matheus Cunha is set to sign a new long-term contract at Wolves, talkSPORT understands. 4 January 2025 talksport.com Tottenham and Newcastle kicked off a thrilling day of Premier League action, but Brentford and Bournemouth did their best to steal the headlines.