Portuguese League - Liga Portugal 2025/26

[ajanwalker]

 Benfica-Sporting match was anything but enjoyable. Benfica was a true Mourinho team. In the first half, Lisbon played with more pressure. Lisbon pressed forward, won the ball, and scored. Benfica equalized 15 minutes later through Sudakov, but I believe there was a foul. The referee awarded the goal, but VAR didn't intervene.
Both teams had a couple of poor chances in the second half, but they didn't result in a goal.
It was clear the match would end in a draw. Benfica's Prestianni received a red card in the 89th minute. The referee initially issued a yellow card, but after a VAR warning, the yellow card was overturned and replaced with a red card. The match, which was a bittersweet one, ended 1-1.

[Abbatty]

Benfica-Sporting match was anything but enjoyable. Benfica was a true Mourinho team. In the first half, Lisbon played with more pressure. Lisbon pressed forward, won the ball, and scored. Benfica equalized 15 minutes later through Sudakov, but I believe there was a foul. The referee awarded the goal, but VAR didn't intervene.
Both teams had a couple of poor chances in the second half, but they didn't result in a goal.
It was clear the match would end in a draw. Benfica's Prestianni received a red card in the 89th minute. The referee initially issued a yellow card, but after a VAR warning, the yellow card was overturned and replaced with a red card. The match, which was a bittersweet one, ended 1-1.

What a game by both side, it much more like it. Jose Morihno always have that huge impact in bringing out the best in derbies everywhere he goes to. The first half was so intense that I didn’t even want the refree to blow for the half time. Both teams have to fight for the points, the hustle, aggression, concentration was just top notch by both side, now they both had to settle for a point which is good for them but even great for Porto.

I believe Porto will take total advantage and try extend their gap to 5 points. Well I would still say the league is far from over and I believe if Jose had started this season with Benfica they would probably have picked more points than they have already. It was a good match to watch honestly.

[Jossque]

Benfica drew 1-1 at home against Sporting. There was no winner in this crucial league match, which actually worked in Sporting's favour. Had Benfica won the match, they would have moved into second place in the league, just three points behind Porto. Although Sporting scored the first goal of the match, Benfica managed to respond 15 minutes later. Benfica created more chances but couldn't find the winning goal and will continue to trail in the title race. I don't think Benfica can win the league this season because if they wanted to be in contention, they absolutely had to win this match.

[Jewan420]

Benfica drew 1-1 at home against Sporting. There was no winner in this crucial league match, which actually worked in Sporting's favour. Had Benfica won the match, they would have moved into second place in the league, just three points behind Porto. Although Sporting scored the first goal of the match, Benfica managed to respond 15 minutes later. Benfica created more chances but couldn't find the winning goal and will continue to trail in the title race. I don't think Benfica can win the league this season because if they wanted to be in contention, they absolutely had to win this match.

Benfica have been playing very badly this season, both in the Champions League and in the domestic league. However, it is a relief that they have managed to avoid defeat against the defending champions of Liga Portugal. I do not see any improvement in them this season, but they are deteriorating day by day. Last season they were very close to winning the title, with Sporting just 2 points behind them. This season I had high hopes that Benfica would be able to win the title, but their performance has proven me wrong. If they want to win the title, they will have to be consistent and not drop any points. However, this is a very tough match. They may even fail to qualify for the Champions League next season.

[joker_josue]

Sporting missed their chance. If they had beaten Benfica, they would have been level with Porto, but they dropped two points in a match they were leading. Undoubtedly, this result benefited Porto the most. Benfica is still in the race, but if Porto wins its missing match, the points gap will be 8. That's a huge difference. I think this is Porto's year. When Porto beats Tondela, they will be 5 points ahead of Sporting. With a third of the league season gone, they have made almost no mistakes.

Yeah, winner of Benfica - Sporting game is Porto without any doubts. Draw is best possible result for them. And draw is fair result for tonight's game, none of teams didn't had big advantage on the pitch. Now Porto have perfect opportunity to extend their lead to 5 points. On paper game with Tondela looks easy

Honestly, how to think that Benfica's real (non-public) goal is to try to stay in second place.
The season was very poorly prepared, and now they are reaping the fruits of that poor preparation.

Even if they improve very significantly, in the second half of the season, they will hardly be able to really fight for first place.
Porto will have to drop a lot in form, which I'm not seeing happening either It may break a little, but not too much.

[rdluffy]

If I had bet, I would have won the bet, hehehe
I predicted it, but I thought it was too risky to bet on this game due to its unpredictability

...
If I were to bet, it would be on a draw, and even the odds are reflecting the chances
Sporting seems a bit stronger at the moment, but Benfica is playing at home, so a draw would be my best bet

It was a great game. I even thought that Sporting would maintain the 1x0 result, but the two teams are well balanced and seem to be on the same level right now

The result ended up being good for Porto, which, if it wins, will be 5 points ahead of Sporting

[Mr Reporter]

Benfica’s drop this season has been brutal, especially after coming so close last year. It’s frustrating to see them slip in both the league and the Champions League when consistency could still turn things around. I think they have been waiting for this opportunity to happen and it has been given.


 Do you think a tactical change or a key signing could give them the spark they need to climb back into title contention

[Slow death]

Sporting missed their chance. If they had beaten Benfica, they would have been level with Porto, but they dropped two points in a match they were leading. Undoubtedly, this result benefited Porto the most. Benfica is still in the race, but if Porto wins its missing match, the points gap will be 8. That's a huge difference. I think this is Porto's year. When Porto beats Tondela, they will be 5 points ahead of Sporting. With a third of the league season gone, they have made almost no mistakes.

Yeah, winner of Benfica - Sporting game is Porto without any doubts. Draw is best possible result for them. And draw is fair result for tonight's game, none of teams didn't had big advantage on the pitch. Now Porto have perfect opportunity to extend their lead to 5 points. On paper game with Tondela looks easy

Honestly, how to think that Benfica's real (non-public) goal is to try to stay in second place.
The season was very poorly prepared, and now they are reaping the fruits of that poor preparation.

Even if they improve very significantly, in the second half of the season, they will hardly be able to really fight for first place.
Porto will have to drop a lot in form, which I'm not seeing happening either It may break a little, but not too much.

I agree with you, Benfica's management saw that the coach wasn't getting good results last season, but they still allowed him to make changes to the team for the new season and kept him in the job this season. It was a serious mistake, and only when the ship was sinking did they realize their error and fire the coach. But in my opinion, it was too late.

Even with Mourinho, when a squad is mediocre, the coach can't do much to make the team win titles. In the Champions League, the team had a disastrous performance, and I highly doubt they'll win the title; they have a greater chance of not finishing second. Now the focus is on next season, seeing which players can stay, which ones to sell, and which ones to sign for next season.

[joker_josue]

I agree with you, Benfica's management saw that the coach wasn't getting good results last season, but they still allowed him to make changes to the team for the new season and kept him in the job this season. It was a serious mistake, and only when the ship was sinking did they realize their error and fire the coach. But in my opinion, it was too late.

Even with Mourinho, when a squad is mediocre, the coach can't do much to make the team win titles. In the Champions League, the team had a disastrous performance, and I highly doubt they'll win the title; they have a greater chance of not finishing second. Now the focus is on next season, seeing which players can stay, which ones to sell, and which ones to sign for next season.

Exactly, I agree with you.
The point is that it's not a problem of the players, individually speaking, being bad. The point is that they together do not work as a team

In other words, Benfica did not assemble a team, it just gathered a group of players.

You give the worst season preparation ever.

[Kuingsudaqila]

Sporting missed their chance. If they had beaten Benfica, they would have been level with Porto, but they dropped two points in a match they were leading. Undoubtedly, this result benefited Porto the most. Benfica is still in the race, but if Porto wins its missing match, the points gap will be 8. That's a huge difference. I think this is Porto's year. When Porto beats Tondela, they will be 5 points ahead of Sporting. With a third of the league season gone, they have made almost no mistakes.

Yeah, winner of Benfica - Sporting game is Porto without any doubts. Draw is best possible result for them. And draw is fair result for tonight's game, none of teams didn't had big advantage on the pitch. Now Porto have perfect opportunity to extend their lead to 5 points. On paper game with Tondela looks easy

Honestly, how to think that Benfica's real (non-public) goal is to try to stay in second place.
The season was very poorly prepared, and now they are reaping the fruits of that poor preparation.

Even if they improve very significantly, in the second half of the season, they will hardly be able to really fight for first place.
Porto will have to drop a lot in form, which I'm not seeing happening either It may break a little, but not too much.

I agree with you, Benfica's management saw that the coach wasn't getting good results last season, but they still allowed him to make changes to the team for the new season and kept him in the job this season. It was a serious mistake, and only when the ship was sinking did they realize their error and fire the coach. But in my opinion, it was too late.

Even with Mourinho, when a squad is mediocre, the coach can't do much to make the team win titles. In the Champions League, the team had a disastrous performance, and I highly doubt they'll win the title; they have a greater chance of not finishing second. Now the focus is on next season, seeing which players can stay, which ones to sell, and which ones to sign for next season.

Actually, Benfica's squad is not much different from last season. In fact, at the beginning of the new season, Benfica also bought players. Benfica's spending on players at the start of last season reached over 100 million euros, which was the largest player expenditure in the Portuguese league. Compared to FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon, Benfica's spending on players is still far above those two teams. So, this is not a squad issue. Mourinho has been given a lot of money to choose players to strengthen the team where it is felt lacking. What Mourinho needs to realize is that he is no longer a top elite coach; the difference with Guardiola is already too great when looking at the teams Mourinho has coached after managing Real Madrid.

[rdluffy]

Benfica's performance in the Champions League has been disastrous, losing four and winning one of their five games, and they are unlikely to advance to the next stage

In the Portuguese league, incredibly, the team has not lost a single game, but even so, we can see that it is not as good a team as in other years
I have been saying for some years now that the Portuguese league is very unbalanced, because no one can beat the top three teams, and that is very bad for the level of the teams
In a more balanced league, with better teams, Benfica would perhaps be much lower down in the competition

I am surprised to see that Mourinho and the reinforcements that the team bought this season did not have the desired effect
I also thought that Richard Ríos would be a player who would make a difference for the team

[Jossque]

Estoril drew 3-3 at home against Moreirense. Although Moreirense scored the first goal in the 2nd minute, the first half ended 1-1. Estoril started the second half strongly and managed to take a 3-1 lead, but conceded a late goal to settle for a 3-3 draw.
Porto are aiming for the championship this season and continue to progress with minimal points lost along the way. Porto, who scored early in the second half against a weak opponent, managed to increase their points to 37. The points gap between Porto and their closest rival is currently 5, and they will want to maintain this at the very least. Porto, who have gained tremendous momentum with Francesco Farioli, are rapidly advancing towards winning the championship this season.

[Mate2237]

Benfica's performance in the Champions League has been disastrous, losing four and winning one of their five games, and they are unlikely to advance to the next stage

In the Portuguese league, incredibly, the team has not lost a single game, but even so, we can see that it is not as good a team as in other years
I have been saying for some years now that the Portuguese league is very unbalanced, because no one can beat the top three teams, and that is very bad for the level of the teams
In a more balanced league, with better teams, Benfica would perhaps be much lower down in the competition

I am surprised to see that Mourinho and the reinforcements that the team bought this season did not have the desired effect
I also thought that Richard Ríos would be a player who would make a difference for the team

The Portuguese league has been majorly dominated by sporting Lisbon, Porto and Benfica this is because these three teams are the only once that has been making conscious efforts in investing in their squad depth which they do by bringing in quality players every transfer market in strengthening their squad and selling some of their top players to other European top team's.


Benfica is not doing well in the champions League because of the quality of the teams that they are playing against there is a lack of quality going into Europe for Benfica. Benfica should concentrate on winning the domestic league because it's clear that they can't even make it into the playoffs in the champions League with the way that they are playing.

[joker_josue]

In this last round, we had an important derby - Benfica vs Sporting. The game was tied at one goal.
For these clubs there were no big differences, but for Porto it was different.
With the draw of the main rivals, Porto took the opportunity to win their game and increase the advantage over the second and third places.


MATCH DAY 13 - RESULTS:
SL Benfica 1-1 Sporting CP
Santa Clara 1-0 Casa Pia
AVS 1-2 Rio Ave
Famalicão 1-2 Braga
Estoril Praia 3-3 Moreirense
Alverca 1-0 CD Nacional
Amadora 3-1 Arouca
Tondela 0-2 Porto
Vitória SC 0-0 Gil Vicente

[rdluffy]

The Portuguese league has been majorly dominated by sporting Lisbon, Porto and Benfica this is because these three teams are the only once that has been making conscious efforts in investing in their squad depth which they do by bringing in quality players every transfer market in strengthening their squad and selling some of their top players to other European top team's.


Benfica is not doing well in the champions League because of the quality of the teams that they are playing against there is a lack of quality going into Europe for Benfica. Benfica should concentrate on winning the domestic league because it's clear that they can't even make it into the playoffs in the champions League with the way that they are playing.

In short, they are the three teams with the most money and, consequently, the strongest teams in the competition, hehehe
This is very bad for the level of Portuguese soccer in general
Especially when they play against teams from other countries

The stronger the national league, the better it is for the teams
A good example is the Premier League, where at least six or seven teams are always in contention for the championship and the top three vary greatly

[Pulsar77]

I am surprised to see that Mourinho and the reinforcements that the team bought this season did not have the desired effect
I also thought that Richard Ríos would be a player who would make a difference for the team

Honestly I'm not surprised at all.    Because I know Mourinho closely from his recent works. He managed Fenerbahçe last season which is one of the big teams in the Turkish Super League.

What did happen? He messed up... He was changing the lineups so often too that he was making the team impossible to play together consistently.

I just believe he is finished. Not the Mourinho we know from the past anymore.

[Pumared]

I am surprised to see that Mourinho and the reinforcements that the team bought this season did not have the desired effect
I also thought that Richard Ríos would be a player who would make a difference for the team

Honestly I'm not surprised at all.    Because I know Mourinho closely from his recent works. He managed Fenerbahçe last season which is one of the big teams in the Turkish Super League.

What did happen? He messed up... He was changing the lineups so often too that he was making the team impossible to play together consistently.

I just believe he is finished. Not the Mourinho we know from the past anymore.

I don't think it's that serious; he's a good coach, and things don't change out of nowhere without reason. I believe he envisioned a strategy, but it's not having the desired effect, and that happens. What we need to observe here is how he's going to get out of this situation.

[joker_josue]

Looking at the league table, we saw how Benfica is getting away from the first place
Rarely does Porto usually let itself be caught up with this advance.
Therefore, certainly Benfica at this moment can only do everything to try to reach second place. Otherwise, until next season it may be compromised, by not going to the champions league.



LEADERBOARD:

POS	Team	PTS	PLD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	FC Porto	37	13	12	1	0	27	3	24
2	Sporting Clube de Portugal	32	13	10	2	1	32	7	25
3	Sport Lisboa e Benfica	29	13	8	5	0	26	8	18
4	Gil Vicente FC	24	13	7	3	3	16	6	10
5	Sporting Clube de Braga	22	13	6	4	3	25	12	13
6	FC Famalicão	20	13	5	5	3	14	9	5
7	Moreirense FC	20	13	6	2	5	21	20	1
8	Vitória SC	18	13	5	3	5	14	17	-3
9	FC Alverca	17	13	5	2	6	15	19	-4
10	Rio Ave FC	16	13	3	7	3	17	21	-4
11	CD Santa Clara	15	13	4	3	6	11	14	-3
12	GD Estoril Praia	14	13	3	5	5	22	21	1
13	CF Estrela da Amadora	14	13	3	5	5	16	19	-3
14	CD Nacional	12	13	3	3	7	12	18	-6
15	Casa Pia AC	9	13	2	3	8	13	27	-14
16	CD Tondela	9	13	2	3	8	7	22	-15
17	FC Arouca	9	13	2	3	8	14	37	-23
18	AVS	3	13	0	3	10	9	31	-22

___
POS - League Position, PLD - Games Played, PTS - Points Earned
W - Games Won, L - Games Lost, D - Games Drawn
GD - Goal Difference, GF - Goal For, GA - Goal Against

[Emitdama]

In short, they are the three teams with the most money and, consequently, the strongest teams in the competition, hehehe
This is very bad for the level of Portuguese soccer in general
Especially when they play against teams from other countries

The stronger the national league, the better it is for the teams
A good example is the Premier League, where at least six or seven teams are always in contention for the championship and the top three vary greatly

This situation is not only in Portuguese League, other leagues as well are facing same problem because they fail to attract investors for funds but it's never been easy for them because no one is going to invest for lose even in long run.

Bundesliga and French ligue1 are also staying on this level, here in Portugal these three clubs are doing good job and have decent quality but no doubt having more teams can bring good changes and also league quality improved here. Federation can bring some strategy, but this is never been easy because they are also having their own interest so they always count about their own pockets instead of going for country or national league.

[Pumared]

Apparently, the new Porto coach is having an effect. Could this be the new path for the other teams? Because in two rounds I believe the standings from second place downwards won't change much and things will become similar. What do you think of this idea of ​​younger coaches with new ideas? In Brazil, the Flamengo case has been successful.