Portuguese League News (2006/2007)

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Anderson header lifts Benfica to fifth

LISBON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A header from Brazilian defender Anderson gave Benfica a 1-0 home victory over Boavista on Sunday which moved the champions up to fifth in the Portuguese Premier League.

Leaders Porto, who have 31 points from 14 matches, won 3-1 at Uniao Leiria on Saturday.

Unfancied Nacional Madeira maintained their title challenge on 30 points with a 2-1 home victory over island rivals Maritimo.

Fourth-placed Braga lost 1-0 at Pacos Ferreira on Sunday. Vitoria Setubal, who occupy third spot on 26 points, host Belenenses on Monday.

Benfica, who qualified for the knockout round of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday, are six points behind Porto.

Anderson grabbed the only goal when he nodded in a corner from the left by Armando Petit before the break.

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Gonzalez scores twice as Porto stretch lead at the top

LISBON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Argentine Lucho Gonzalez scored twice as Porto came from behind to beat Penafiel 3-1 and move four points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday.

Porto now have 34 points from 15 games with Nacional Madeira, beaten 1-0 at Benfica, still in second place on 30.

Vitoria Setubal, who lost 1-0 at Maritimo, and Braga, who beat Academica 2-0, are neck-and-neck in third spot with 29.

Champions Benfica, who were given a daunting task against European champions Liverpool in the first knockout round of the Champions League this week, remain fifth on 28 points.

Penafiel sprung a surprise when midfielder Bruno Amaro put them ahead in Oporto after one minute with a long-range strike.

Midfielder Gonzalez got a deserved equaliser after 40 minutes with a low shot from outside the box and two minutes before halftime put Porto in front with a penalty after Ricardo Quaresma was brought down by Brazilian defender Weligton.

Gonzalez's compatriot, striker Lisandro Lopez, wrapped up the victory with a third goal when he tapped in a neat left wing cross by winger Quaresma after 54 minutes.

Benfica striker Nuno Gomes scored their winner after a goalmouth scramble following a free kick by Petit after 72 minutes to take his tally for the season to 11.

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Porto restore four-point lead in Portugal

LISBON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Porto restored their four-point lead in the Portuguese Premier League after a 2-0 win over struggling Vitoria Guimaraes on Thursday in the last games before the league's Christmas break.

Porto have 37 points from 16 matches, four points clear of Nacional Madeira who won 3-0 at Boavista to regain second from champions Benfica (31 points), who needed a last-minute Nuno Gomes goal to beat Vitoria Setubal 1-0 on Wednesday.

Porto went ahead after 22 minutes when winger Ricardo Quaresma fired in from an acute angle past Guimaraes keeper Nilson before Jorginho sealed the points after combining well with South African striker Benni McCarthy after 58 minutes.

Brazilian Alexandre Goulart gave surprise title contenders Nacional Madeira the lead after five minutes.

Boavista wasted a good chance to equalise when Fary's penalty was well saved by Nacional's goalkeeper Diego Benaglio in the 27th minute before Nacional substitute Andre Pinto scored two goals in seven minutes.

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Adriaanse aware of lurking Benfica

Friday, 23 December 2005

As the Portuguese Liga season reaches its halfway point, FC Porto look well placed to claim their third title in four years. The challenge of CD Nacional has waned in recent weeks but reigning champions SL Benfica are not relinquishing their crown without a fight after ending the year with four consecutive victories.

Domestic bliss
Abject in the UEFA Champions League, Porto have been a different proposition on home soil, winning eleven of their 16 fixtures to date, losing just one. A. Académica de Coimbra, UD Leiria and FC Penafiel have all borne the brunt of one-sided scorelines in recent weeks as Co Adriaanse's side went into the winter break four points clear of Nacional at the summit.

Nacional treasure
Madeira outfit Nacional are the surprise packages this season, losing just three games, and although they struggled to maintain that tempo in recent weeks, a superb 3-0 win away to Boavista FC on 22 December suggests they remain in contention. However, Porto's principle worry may lie two points behind Manuel Machado's side, in the form of traditional rivals Benfica.

Inconsistent form
Ronald Koeman's team endured a fractious start to the season, where an ever-changing starting XI flitted between defeats by the likes of Gil Vicente FC to victories against Nacional and Porto. The league's top scorer, Nuno Gomes was on target twice in the 2-0 win against Co Adriaanse's team in mid-October and he has been central to the side's subsequent improvement.

Braga blunted
Benfica have lost just once since then, a 3-2 defeat against high-flying SC Braga in November. Koeman's side bounced back though, winning four of their next five matches, during which time Braga's title ambitions faltered with four losses. Jesualdo Ferreira's team now lie sixth on 31 points, level with Vitória FC and a point behind fourth-placed Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Sporting chance
Like Porto, Sporting endured an unproductive European campaign, suffering elimination from both the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup without gracing the group stages. That form was mirrored in the Portuguese Liga where a run of three defeats in seven games hastened the demise of José Peseiro. Paulo Bento took the helm and has overseen a marked improvement, lifting the side eight points behind the leaders.

Setúbal unrest
Setúbal are another of the league's surprises, making light of off-the-field travails to go into the winter break fifth after conceding just five goals. Those in the backroom at the club are apparently having to be equally frugal and with the players not receiving wages, coach Luís Norton de Matos resigned in mid-December, leaving Hélio Sousa to take charge.

Losing run
There have been coaching changes at the other end of the table too, where Vítor Pontes replaced Jaime Pacheco at the helm of Vitória SC. The side currently lie seven points clear of basement side FC Penafiel, and three ahead of second-from-bottom A. Naval 1º de Maio, whose sequence of seven consecutive defeats saw the departure of Manuel Cajuda.

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Porto win to stay top, Benfica up to second

LISBON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Porto grabbed a 1-0 home win over
Boavista to consolidate their position on top of the Portuguese
Premier League as the season reached its reached its halfway
stage on Sunday.

Champions Benfica moved up to second ahead of Nacional
Madeira on head-to-head results with a 2-0 victory over Pacos
Ferreira in front of their best crowd of the season with more
than 53,100 fans packed into Stadium of Light.

Porto have 40 points from 17 matches, six ahead of Benfica
and Nacional, who were held to a 2-2 home draw by Vitoria
Setubal on Friday.

A powerful 23rd-minute from Ricardo Quaresma was enough to
keep Porto unbeaten for 14 league matches with their 12th
victory of the season.

Brazilian keeper Moretto replaced Quim in goal for Benfica
while his compatriot winger Manduca and French midfielder
Laurent -- also new signing -- were substitutes.

They opened the scoring thanks to an own goal by Pacos
Ferreira defender Joao Duarte. who tried to cut out a Nelson
Marcus attempt from the left after 10 minutes.

Brazilian winger Geovanni made sure of the three point after
67 minutes by tapping in a cross from captain Simao Sabrosa, who
returned to action after nearly two months recovering from
surgery.

Brazilian winger Wender made Sporting regret letting him go
to Braga on loan in the January transfer window when he scored
twice in a 3-2 victory over the Lisbon club on Saturday.

Wender opened the scoring after 33 minutes and striker Joao
Tomas doubled the lead before halftime.

Sporting got back on level terms in the second half with two
goals from Brazilian striker Liedson in four minutes before
Wender grabbed the winner, tapping in a corner after 79 minutes.

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Porto loses Peixoto for season

Lisbon, Portugal (Sports Network) - FC Porto defender Cesar Peixoto is expected to miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury.

The 25-year-old will need surgery after suffering ligament damage in the second half of Porto's 1-0 win over Boavista on Sunday.

FC Porto only has one loss through its first 17 Portuguese Superliga outings and sits atop the table by six points.

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Amadoro pulls off 2-1 upset of leader FC Porto to tighten race at top

LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Amadora stunned FC Porto 2-1 and helped to cut Porto's lead to just three points over Benfica in the Portuguese league on Sunday.

Benfica, which hasn't conceded a goal for seven rounds, beat Academica 3-0 for its sixth successive victory. Benfica improved to 37 points, just three behind Porto after 18 rounds. Braga and Nacional had 35 each.

Mauricio of seventh-place Amadora converted a free kick in the 18th minute to open the scoring against Porto.

Teammate Rafael Coutinho shot through Porto's defence for 2-0, and Porto responded in the 60th minute when Lucho Gonzales found the net but slumped to only its second loss of the season.

Benfica striker Simao Sabrosa scored in the fifth minute against Academica, and Luisao Silva and Nuno Gomes added a goal each in the second half.

Sporting on Saturday also beat Belenenses away from home with a goal by Tonel.

In other matches it was Braga 1, Leiria 0; Naval 0, Guimaraes 0; Rio Ave 2, Penafiel 0; Maritimo 1, Gil Vicente 1; Nacional 2, P. Ferreira 2. On Monday, Setubal hosts Boavista.

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Own-goal keeps Porto three points clear at the top

LISBON, Jan 21 (Reuters) - An own-goal gave Porto a 1-0 win over lowly Naval in the Premier League on Saturday to maintain their three-point lead over champions Benfica.

After 19 matches Porto have 43 points ahead of champions Benfica, who beat Gil Vicente 3-1 away on Friday.

Nacional Madeira and Braga lead the chasing pack with 36 points after playing out 0-0 draws with Penafiel on Thursday and Academica on Saturday respectively.

Porto grabbed their victory with a goal after 30 minutes when a cross from the right by winger Ricardo Quaresma hit Naval Brazilian defender Fernando and the ball rebounded into his own net.

Benfica had to come from a goal down on Friday to beat Gil Vicente for their seventh league win in a row.

The home side went ahead with a penalty from midfielder Nandinho after nine minutes following a foul by Benfica captain Simao Sabrosa on Carlitos.

Sabrosa redeemed himself with the equaliser eight minutes later from the penalty spot after handball by defender Gregory.

Brazilian winger Geovanni put the visitors ahead when he tapped in a cross from the right by striker Nuno Gomes after 34 minutes.

Benfica made sure of the points thanks to Gil Vicente keeper Jorge Batista who scored an own-goal when he failed to clear a back pass from team mate Marcos Antonio after 55 minutes.

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Porto go four points clear

LISBON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Leaders Porto stretched their lead to four points despite a goalless draw at Rio Ave on Sunday thanks to Benfica's defeat by Sporting.

Porto top the Portuguese Premier League with 44 points from 20 matches followed by champions Benfica on 40. Nacional Madeira, who beat Gil Vicente 2-0 away, are third on 39.

Sporting, who came from behind for the first time since 1955 to beat their Lisbon rivals 3-1 at Benfica's Stadium of Light on Saturday, are fourth on 37.

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Benfica suffer title blow with second defeat in a row

LISBON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Benfica slumped to a second successive defeat as a 3-1 reverse at Uniao Leiria on Saturday hit their hopes of retaining the Premier League title.

Sporting moved up three places into second spot level on 40 points with the struggling champions thanks to a 1-0 home win over Nacional Madeira, who slipped one place to fourth.

Leaders Porto, who host fifth-placed Braga on Monday, can move seven points clear of Sporting and Benfica if they win.

Leiria went ahead after 34 minutes with a low 30-metre drive by midfielder Joao Paulo but had to wait until just before the hour mark to double their lead against Benfica.

Defender Luisao put the ball straight into the path of Leiria striker Paulo Cesar and although keeper Moretto parried the shot Brazilian Fabio Felicio made it 2-0 from the rebound.

Benfica's new Brazilian signing Manduca got a goal back with a close-range shot nine minutes from the end but Leiria restored their two-goal lead through substitute Maciel after 87 minutes.

The visitors made several chances but were frustrated by a brilliant overall performance from Leiria keeper Costinha.

Sporting midfielder Marco Caneira, on loan from Valencia, fired home their winner against Madeira with his first goal for the club after being set up by Liedson in the 51st minute.

Nacional, level on 39 points with Braga, finished the match down to 10 men after Alexandre Goulart collected his second yellow card with 10 minutes remaining.

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Portugal league head faces rigging charges

LISBON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The head of Portugal's soccer league has been charged with 26 others in a match-rigging scheme involving second division games, newspapers said on Thursday.

The charges against Valentim Loureiro, chairman of the Portuguese Professional Soccer League, and others stem from an investigation of almost two years into alleged attempts to influence referees called "Golden Whistle".

Loureiro was charged with 26 crimes of active corruption and two of malfeasance, according to Diario de Noticias, Jornal de Noticias and Correio da Manha newspapers.

Jose Antonio Pinto de Sousa, former head of the league's referees' council, faces 26 charges of passive corruption, the newspapers said. Thirteen referees are among those accused.

Loureiro said he had not been notified of the charges, adding, "I don't appreciate fiction," Lusa news agency reported.

A spokesman for the attorney general declined to comment. The attorney general's office said last week that 29 people had been accused, but gave no names.

Portugal's Soccer Federation declined to comment.

The names published on Thursday were those of suspects charged in Gondomar, an industrial town in northern Portugal at the centre of the case.

The probe centres on 29 games involving second division Gondomar in the 2003/04 season, Jornal de Noticias reported. Loureiro was re-elected mayor in October and is also head of the subway board in nearby Oporto.

Diario de Noticias carried alleged excerpts from 15,000 hours of police wiretaps from the case.

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Benfica crush bottom team Penafiel

LISBON, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Champions Benfica notched up a welcome victory after two successive league defeats when they crushed bottom side Penafiel 4-0 at home on Sunday.

Porto, who won 2-0 at Belenenses on Saturday, remain five points clear at the top of the Premier League with 48 points ahead of Sporting and Benfica after 22 games.

Braga, held 1-1 at home by Estrela Amadora, dropped below Benfica to fourth with 41 points.

Benfica went ahead after 37 minutes in Lisbon through Brazilian winger Geovanni who fired home from inside the area after a long pass by midfielder Armando Petit.

They doubled their lead thanks to an own-goal by Penafiel defender Roberto as he tried to clear a corner after 62 minutes.

Striker Nuno Gomes, the league's top scorer, tapped in the third after 77 minutes to take his tally to 14 goals.

Simao Sabrosa completed the rout with the fourth goal from close range in stoppage time.

Sporting midfielder Carlos Martins had inspired his team to a 2-1 victory at Vitoria Setubal on Saturday by scoring one goal and setting up the other.

Martins fired home a spectacular long-range free kick after 36 minutes and helped Sporting make it 2-0 in the 63rd when another of his free kicks was blocked by keeper Marco Tabuas only for winger Joao Moutinho to put away the rebound.

Winger Carlitos got Setubal's consolation goal with an 87th minute penalty after a handball by Sporting captain Sa Pinto.

[Glorioso SLB]

That was a very much needed win for Benfica. 4-0 was a little flatering for us, because penafiel actually started the game quite well. That really was a must win game to get our confidence back up.

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Sporting extend Liedson's contract for four years

LISBON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Sporting have extended Brazilian striker Liedson's contract for four years, the Lisbon club said on Tuesday.

The cost of the contract extension is 8.5 million euros ($10.1 million), Sporting said in a bourse statement.

Liedson, 28, is the Portuguese league's number-two scorer with 12 goals. Sporting are second in the league, five points behind Porto.

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Porto beat Maritimo 1-0 to restore five-point lead

LISBON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Porto restored their five-point lead in the Portuguese Premier League with a 1-0 win over Maritimo on Sunday.

Raul Meireles struck from outside the penalty area after 21 minutes to clinch a 15th victory for Porto who move on to 51 points from 23 matches.

Sporting moved second on 46 points after a comfortable 3-0 victory over Pacos Ferreira on Saturday. Benfica are third, three points further back, after losing 2-0 at Vitoria Guimaraes.

Champions Benfica, who meet Liverpool in the opening leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie on Tuesday, host Porto next week in a match they must win to keep alive their hopes of retaining the title.