Portuguese League - Liga Portugal 2022/23

[LTU_btc]

After the defeat to Porto, Benfica continues to suffer losses by losing to Chaves.At this rate, it seems that the determination of the champion will continue until the last weeks.Things may not be going well for Benfica, who lost with a goal in the last minute. The favorite of the match was of course Benfica and we mainly saw the ball in Benfica's feet, but they had difficulty in finding goals because they could not make use of the positions they found, which led to their defeat.Benfica's point difference with Porto remained 4 after this match.We can say that things are starting to get serious.

Benfica looked so strong whole season and when we reached decisive phase of it, seems that they're starting to struggle. Loss to Porto last week, then painful loss against Inter in Champions league at home and now upset against Chaves. It already looked that game will end 0:0, but then on last minute Otamendi did mistake which can't be justified and let Chaves to score.
Porto won their game against Santa Clara 2:1. Not easy, but they got 3 points and now just 4 points behind Benfica. And I just remind that Benfica have remaining games with Braga and Sporting, while Porto have relatively easy remaining schedule. And just more than week ago it looked that Porto now need miracle to win title.

[joker_josue]

The general feeling of the Benfica fans, after that defeat against Chaves, is that we are going to lose the championship. This has already happened in the recent past, being ahead with several points of advantage, and without any apparent explanation the team starts to lose games. So the fear of this happening again is very big. The coach has to do something about this and maybe make some changes. But with just a few games left in the season, there isn't much time to recover.

[rdluffy]

The general feeling of the Benfica fans, after that defeat against Chaves, is that we are going to lose the championship. This has already happened in the recent past, being ahead with several points of advantage, and without any apparent explanation the team starts to lose games. So the fear of this happening again is very big. The coach has to do something about this and maybe make some changes. But with just a few games left in the season, there isn't much time to recover.

It was an impressive and unexpected result yesterday. Lucky for me I didn't place any bets, otherwise I would have lost money.

A player like Otamendi, at 94 minutes, making a mistake at that level? It's bizarre...

He mis-dominated a ball, fell down, didn't make a foul to stop the play, and doesn't even seem to have tried very hard.
Watch: https://youtu.be/8dfPWN8buYU?t=174

It was a 10 point difference that seemed impossible to overcome, but now it is only 4 points.
I still believe that Benfica will win the title, it is quite favorite, and accidents happen along the way, but the nervousness of the team after losing against Inter is visible, after the 2-0 playing at home the team was nervous.
Probably after the UCL return game and a possible declassification, the team will play well again, but they have to be very careful not to start fighting each other and lose this championship.

One last observation, is that Benfica's team will have more difficult matches than Porto.

[LTU_btc]

Seems that fight for 3rd place and spot in CL qualifiers becomes almost impossible for Sporting. After draw with Arouca they're 7 points behind Braga.
There is no questions about first penalty, but second one - I'm not sure how you can award such penalty even after VAR review. IMO, it was diving.
And goal that Sporting conceded - their defender Diomande basically made assist to Arouca player. One last thing about game, I haven't seen for a while 11 minutes added by referee.
BTW, Arouca isn't getting much attemtion here, but they have not bad season and they have good chances to qualify to Conference league together with Sporting, they're 4 points ahead 6th place.

[execijutiere]

Sporting Lisbon drew against arouca, the in-form team of the last few weeks.It's fair to say that it didn't make much difference for either team.Although sporting clearly had the upper hand in the last meetings between them, I think sporting got such a draw, probably thinking about the juventus match.Even if they had won, nothing much would have changed since their closest rival braga also won their match.Arouca, on the other hand, got an important point from this away game to qualify for the european conference cup.

[Volgastallion]

What a shame ending of the season for Sporting Lisboa, i still remember the start of them winning against Totenham in UCL, and seems like they are gonna make a surprise both in UCL and in League, but ended up being a very bad season for them, out of all the important.

[Ratash]

Another loss for benfica this round its their second in a row after the loss against porto and with that only four points separate them from porto this will certainly keep the competition alive some tough games await benfica and there is a chance porto team might catch up.

[Slow death]

Portuguese league seems like a league in which manipulation has been in place for years, look at the case of porto, see how porto has been winning games in a strange way, and see how benfica's game against porto was, it didn't even seem that the players of benfica had any interest in winning the game, benfica's performance was not a normal performance, it even looked like a team that before the game had been told to play badly and lost the game, the big teams like benfica and porto seem to always play manipulating the results, maybe I'm wrong, but anyone who observes the Portuguese league well will come to this kind of conclusion

well, we'll see what the theater will be like in the next games, maybe benfica will start with a losing streak for porto to win and for porto to win the referees will give many red cards and penalties to all porto's opponents, i said months ago that benfica profits from selling players and that when it comes to winning the league I don't think they make an effort, there have been many times when they were better than porto and other teams but in the end they started to lose out of nowhere and porto miraculously became champion, the result of today's game is not even something surprising, Is a Déjà vu

I clearly understand what you mean. This was probably the worst game Benfica played this season. This may seem strange and give an idea, but with Portuguese and knowing Portuguese football well, I can say that this is unlikely to have happened.

But, looking at the history of the last 20 years, I can say that Benfica lives with the ghost of losing at home against Porto. So, with that ever-present fear, with the supporters' determination to win, the important game of the Champions League, Benfica's players reached a point where it seems that they have disconnected from the game. It's strange, no doubt, but it's one of the areas that Benfica have to improve a lot, not being so afraid of Porto.

He continued to think that it would be difficult for Benfica to lose the championship, even so, Benfica has to do more to improve that mental aspect.

well, as i said before that benfica always have a big difference in points when approaching the end of the season they mysteriously start to lose games while porto miraculously start to win games after benfica have lost the game against porto, benfica lost again and this time lost in the game against the chaves, and porto as expected won, I said weeks ago when they said that benfica will be champion and I said that benfica when it is close to the end of the league will start losing games and Porto will be champions, and it's always the same movie in the Portuguese league

For example, in the next game for Benfica, it will be against Estoril, who are a weak team, obviously, in order not to give too much attention, Benfica will win or draw, but in these last games, Benfica will play against Braga, which without a doubt, Benfica will lose. and then benfica will play against sporting that without a doubt benfica will also lose so and just do the math well that we will easily see that the whole stage was already set from the beginning for porto to be champion, I don't see benfica being champion, benfica already makes money from selling players, so winning the league is not something that benfica takes seriously

[rdluffy]

well, as i said before that benfica always have a big difference in points when approaching the end of the season they mysteriously start to lose games while porto miraculously start to win games after benfica have lost the game against porto, benfica lost again and this time lost in the game against the chaves, and porto as expected won, I said weeks ago when they said that benfica will be champion and I said that benfica when it is close to the end of the league will start losing games and Porto will be champions, and it's always the same movie in the Portuguese league

For example, in the next game for Benfica, it will be against Estoril, who are a weak team, obviously, in order not to give too much attention, Benfica will win or draw, but in these last games, Benfica will play against Braga, which without a doubt, Benfica will lose. and then benfica will play against sporting that without a doubt benfica will also lose so and just do the math well that we will easily see that the whole stage was already set from the beginning for porto to be champion, I don't see benfica being champion, benfica already makes money from selling players, so winning the league is not something that benfica takes seriously

Now I remembered, I saw your post and it was you who had commented that Porto could be champion and that there is probably something wrong in the championship.
I still have doubts, I prefer to believe that it wouldn't come to that point of corruption in the championship.

I found very strange the way Benfica lost the last match, with a very grotesque mistake by Otamendi, almost in the last minute of the game.

Are you going to place bets on Porto's team to be the champion? Or bet on Benfica's defeats?
You can make a good profit because the odds should be very good at the bookmakers.
Share with us please

obs - I couldn't find any bets for the champion team, I think you are only allowed to bet on the champion before the championship starts

[joker_josue]

I still have doubts, I prefer to believe that it wouldn't come to that point of corruption in the championship.

Logically Benfica, Porto or Sporting will not accept money from rivals to lose the championship.

But there are many suspicions of corruption in the refereeing or at least a lot of pressure on the referees, who can actually end up making decisions in some bids that will benefit a certain club.

Mainly, there are many suspicions of this pressure coming from Porto, which usually always occurs towards the end of the championship when things are not going well for the club. Despite the suspicions, nothing has really been proven to date. But even the fans find some situations that occur strange, and that's why there are so many suspicions.



Edit the post to correct a sentence, which I misspelled in English. I apologize.

[hahay]

Another loss for benfica this round its their second in a row after the loss against porto and with that only four points separate them from porto this will certainly keep the competition alive some tough games await benfica and there is a chance porto team might catch up.

It's really very unfortunate indeed, as a team that has dominated the league this season, but Benfica actually got two successive defeats. Even worse, in yesterday's match Benfica lost by Chaves and in fact, this was Chaves' first win over Benfica. Maybe Benfica is in a difficult situation because they also have to play in the Champions League, so this factor has made their performance decrease in the Portuguese League.

Currently, Benfica's point gap with Porto is only four points and of course, this position does not make Benfica comfortable at the top of the standings. Because yes, the poor results that Benfica got in the Champions League quarter-finals also certainly had a big impact on their current mentality.

[rendravolt]

It's been a long time since I have followed the development of the Portuguese league match and was quite surprised by Benfica's defeat last week to their opponent Chaves with a narrow score. This is a bad result for Benfica, especially losing to the 10th position in the standings. Elsewhere there are Porto and Braga who managed to win narrowly over their opponents and this also made Porto's distance smaller than Benfica by 4 points. This successive defeat is really not a good achievement for Benfica, moreover they have lost 3 times in a row, including losing to Porto and in the UCL competition against Inter. I hope Benfica can bounce back in this week's match and make the distance from Porto again.

[rdluffy]

...

It is very difficult, almost impossible to uncover such corruption, but it exists in many leagues.
Last year they discovered in Brazil a bribery scheme for players to do certain actions during the game, so that they could bet and win money.
But they didn't find anything related to the referees.
There is a lot of talk, but they can't prove it.

Going back to the Portuguese championship, as I don't live in Portugal, I don't know how the news are daily, and if it is possible something like this, but in my opinion, from a foreigner, it doesn't make much sense to sell a championship because one day they can find out and lose a lot of things with FIFA and even be relegated or banned from participating in other competitions.
Besides that if you win the championship, you get the prize money.

...

For sure the participation in the Champions League affected Benfica's team, especially for having lost the match against Inter, playing in Portugal, we all know that affects the players, and they get more nervous and make more mistakes.
Having 10 points ahead, and now only 4, they are already on alert and I say that they will probably be eliminated from the Champions League and will win again in the Portuguese championship.

The two games against Braga and Sporting will be very difficult, it could be that Benfica and Porto's championship will be decided in those two matches.
I think they will be the best matches to watch and the worst to bet hehehe.

If anyone is sure that Benfica will lose against Estoril, the odds are great to bet on, odds of 22

[joker_josue]

Going back to the Portuguese championship, as I don't live in Portugal, I don't know how the news are daily, and if it is possible something like this, but in my opinion, from a foreigner, it doesn't make much sense to sell a championship because one day they can find out and lose a lot of things with FIFA and even be relegated or banned from participating in other competitions.
Besides that if you win the championship, you get the prize money.

The news in Portugal falls a lot on the suspicions of the referees favoring certain clubs. Especially between Benfica and Porto, both tend to accuse themselves that they are being benefited. In reality, we see more often certain referees making decisions that in the end will favor Porto.

For example, in this game against Chaves, 2 minutes before Chaves scored a goal, he took a penalty on a Benfica player and it wasn't signaled. Of course, this does not justify the bad game that Benfica played against Chaves. But maybe I wouldn't have lost that game.

Without a doubt, the game against Estoril will be very difficult for Benfica. Especially if you lose and play a very exhausting game against Inter.

[LTU_btc]

But there are many suspicions of corruption in the refereeing or at least a lot of pressure on the referees, who can actually end up making decisions in some bids that will benefit a certain club.

Mainly, there are many suspicions of this pressure coming from Porto, which usually always occurs towards the end of the championship when things are not going well for the club. Despite the suspicions, nothing has really been proven to date. But even the fans find some situations that occur strange, and that's why there are so many suspicions.

I'm not from Portugal and I don't follow this league that much, so I don't know does these accusations really basis or just conspiracy theories. From what I saw, in Greece have similar problem. So, their solution - they just invite foreign referees to all big games involved main teams like Olympiacos, AEK, Pao and etc. Nobody trusts local referees there, while foreign referees supposed to be neutral. Had their ever considered such thing in Portugal.

[joker_josue]

I'm not from Portugal and I don't follow this league that much, so I don't know does these accusations really basis or just conspiracy theories. From what I saw, in Greece have similar problem. So, their solution - they just invite foreign referees to all big games involved main teams like Olympiacos, AEK, Pao and etc. Nobody trusts local referees there, while foreign referees supposed to be neutral. Had their ever considered such thing in Portugal.

This has been defended by several commentators and people connected with football. But so far this idea has not been put into practice. It was expected that the VAR would come to help, and it even helps a little, but the quality of referees in active duty is very weak and has many vices. It is expected that the next generation of referees will be a little better, not least because the level of training is different and has been improving. But while the older ones are active, it's going to be very complicated.

It's not even a matter of them being subordinates, it's actually the fact that they have poor quality in their assessment of situations. Where things that are obvious are totally devalued by them.

[joker_josue]

Tonight, matchday 29 of the championship began. In addition to this round, there are 5 rounds left for the end and the championship is red hot.
The first game was Casa Pia vs Braga, with Braga winning by 0-1, now waiting for what the rivals will do.

With emphasis on Paços de Ferreira vs Porto, where Paços de Ferreira usually complicates life for Porto, but this season has been out of shape. And we have Estoril vs Benfica, which is also usually a complicated game for Benfica, especially now that it comes from a series of bad results and needs to quickly recover so as not to lose the first place.

It will certainly be an exciting journey.

The remaining games are:
Famalicão vs Marítimo
Boavista vs Rio Ave
Portimonense vs Gil Vicente
Santa Clara vs Chaves
Arouca vs Vizela
Vitoria Guimarães vs Sporting CP

[LTU_btc]

Watched Pacos de Ferreira - Porto game. Red card made life easier for Porto. 1st half was awful for them. I must mention monent that Pacos de Ferreira had, but Pepe made such sprint and stopped dangerous attack that it was difficult to accept fact that he is already 40 years old.
Benfica - Estoril, logically this game shouldn't cause problems for Benfica, but when you see how they're looking recently, it might be not that easy.

[joker_josue]

Watched Pacos de Ferreira - Porto game. Red card made life easier for Porto. 1st half was awful for them. I must mention monent that Pacos de Ferreira had, but Pepe made such sprint and stopped dangerous attack that it was difficult to accept fact that he is already 40 years old.

What we saw was a Porto with difficulty in the game, until they had help in the referee. With, a second yellow card to the Paços de Ferreira player, in a move in which he doesn't even touch the opponent. It's an imaginary penalty. This is one of the biggest problems in Portuguese football.
See the summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ENpiA1atw

[shogun47]

Watched Pacos de Ferreira - Porto game. Red card made life easier for Porto. 1st half was awful for them. I must mention monent that Pacos de Ferreira had, but Pepe made such sprint and stopped dangerous attack that it was difficult to accept fact that he is already 40 years old.

What we saw was a Porto with difficulty in the game, until they had help in the referee. With, a second yellow card to the Paços de Ferreira player, in a move in which he doesn't even touch the opponent. It's an imaginary penalty. This is one of the biggest problems in Portuguese football.
See the summary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8ENpiA1atw

Yes the issue with the referee has been discussed as of late, but that is some fundamental problem which I think you can't solve within a couple of months. You need competitive salaries in order to prevent referees from being prone to bribery, but you also need top notch education like they have in the Premier League or in the Bundesliga. I don't know if that is a good indicator , but the last time a Portuguese referee took part in a World Cup was in 2014 in Brazil. The last two World Cup tournaments didn't have a single referee from Portugal. That's a bad statistic for them and reflects what has been discussed here.

Porto is putting pressure on Benfica now and they are also going to play against Braga and Sporting in the coming weeks. Now everyone knows why Roger Schmidt declined to take any early congratulations for this years Primeira Liga title. The race has gotten much closer than many of us thought a few weeks ago.