Vitória goalkeeper Bruno Varela’s week thus far has showcased the good and the bad in Portuguese football, and it could yet encapsulate glory.Thousands of the Guimarães club’s inimitable fans invaded Porto on Sunday evening to roar their team onto a 2-1 victory at Boavista, thus securing Vitória’s f
Often cited as the great underachievers of Portuguese football, there are evident signs that Vitória Sport Clube are at last heading towards sustainable growth built on solid foundations. Based in Guimarães, the birthplace of Portugal, Vitória’s fanbase might not be the most numerous in a country do
Benfica suffered a 3-1 defeat in Barcelona which ended their Champions League campaign in the round of 16. Following a 1-0 loss in the first leg in Lisboa, the Eagles never looked like overturning the deficit in Spain.Raphinha opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Lamine Yamal’s miscued effort
Manchester United part-owner Jim Ratcliffe has given a couple of lengthy interviews to the British media, during which he has outlined his great support for manager Rúben Amorim.Ratcliffe was quizzed by the BBC and former United player Gary Neville in seperate chats about a number of issues facing t
Tomorrow Benfica will attempt to overturn a 1-0 deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona. It is a tall order, but the Portuguese team have overcome the odds against the Catalan giants in the past.Football historian and author Miguel Lourenço Pereira looks back at one of the gr
Rúben Amorin believes Manchester United must sign more players like Bruno Fernandes if they are to be successful in improving their recruitment this summer.Fernandes scored a sensational free-kick on Sunday afternoon as the Red Devils held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, after which attention
Reigning Portuguese champions Sporting earned an important win in Rio Maior this afternoon, beating Casa Pia 3-1 thanks to the exact same recipe as last weekend’s victory over Estoril – a Gonçalo Inácio header and a Viktor Gyökeres brace.A potentially difficult encounter was on the cards with Casa P
Lecce 2-3 AC MilanSérgio Conceição says he is seeing the benefit of more time on the training ground, after watching his AC Milan team produce a remarkable fightback to claim victory at Lecce in Serie A.Milan trailed 2-0 heading in the last quarter of the match on Saturday evening, with Conceicao’s
Nottingham Forest’s challenge for the Champions League places in the Premier League is very much a reality after Nuno Espírito Santo’s side earned a huge win over champions Manchester City.Nuno’s side opened up a four-point gap between themselves and City with a hard-fought three points, given to th
Braga all but ended Porto’s slim chances of fighting for the title with a deserved 1-0 victory at the Quarry tonight. A strong start by the hosts was rewarded when captain Ricardo Horta fired in direct from a free kick from a tight angle, Porto and Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa not exempt from bla
Vitória de Guimarães earned a 2-2 draw against Real Betis in an entertaining UEFA Conference League clash at Estadio Benito Villamarín.Both teams had chances in the first half before the game came alive after the break, Cédric Bakambu putting Real Betis ahead in the 49th minute when he converted fro
The manager of Lyon, Paulo Fonseca, has been hit with the severest of punishments for his behaviour towards a referee in France last week, with the Portuguese boss issued a 9-month ban by Ligue 1’s Disciplinary Committee.Fonseca angrily confronted official Benoît Millot as he was receiving a red car
Benfica 0-1 BarcelonaBenfica have only themselves to blame after missing a glorious opportunity to take a lead back to Spain for the second leg. The Eagles huffed and puffed but were unable to break down a resilient 10-man Barcelona team. Bruno Lage's side missed countless clear cut chances. Barcelo
This week we’re joined by Ricardo Sousa from ‘Remate Cruzado’ to discuss Jornada 24 of the Primeira Liga season.Sporting get a much-needed win over in-form Estoril, Boavista get their first home win in almost a year, Rio Ave defeat Braga thanks to a goalkeeping howler, and much more! To listen to th
Overhyped, underachieving wunderkinds distill what it means to be greatThis is a long article. It attempts something difficult - to discern the mystery of what forms a great player through a particular lens.The Portuguese players recorded here who have fallen short are not held in contempt but lend
FC Barcelona will travel to Lisbon this week to face SL Benfica in a repeat of the 1961 European Cup final. On that occasion, it was Benfica who emerged victorious to start a golden era in the club’s history. The Lisbon side would go on to replicate the feat in 1962 (defeating Real Madrid) and would
Sporting 3-1 Estoril Sporting CP and Estoril Praia played out a thrilling 3-1 match at the Estádio José Alvalade on Monday night with both teams playing an open and attacking style of football. Ian Cathro’s side battled bravely in a hostile environment, but two goals from Swedish international Vikto
Paulo Fonseca dominated the headlines in French football on Sunday evening, after a heated confrontation with referee Benoît Millot during Lyon’s 2-1 victory over Brest.Former Porto boss Fonseca was issued a red card as the official headed to the VAR monitor to consider a late penalty for the visito
Manchester United 1-1 Fulham (3-4 on penalties)Marco Silva’s Fulham are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after overcoming holders Manchester United on penalties at Old Trafford.The visitors were increasingly impressive at the Theatre of Dreams, taking a first-half lead and surviving a resurgenc
Arouca 0-2 FC PortoPorto got back to winning ways this evening, clocking up an important victory in Arouca thanks to goals in each half from Samu Aghehowa and Fábio Vieira.The Spanish striker gave the Dragons an early lead from the penalty spot, but the hosts fought back strongly. Nandín thought he
Brazilian and South American champions Botafogo will once again have a Portuguese coach on the sidelines for the start of the 2025 season, having appointed Renato Paiva as Artur Jorge’s successor in Rio de Janeiro.Jorge led Botafogo to an historic Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores double l
Out of the 18 clubs in Portugal’s top flight this season, only four have the same head coach with whom they started the 2024/25 campaign.The Primeira Liga is often a manager’s graveyard, but this campaign has broken records in terms of instability in the dugout.For a start, it is the first time in c
Gil Vicente 0-1 SportingSporting beat Gil Vicente 1-0 in Barcelos thanks to a long-range goal by Belgian centre-back Zeno Debast, today playing in midfield and Sporting’s best player on the night.Going into the match, neither team had won in their previous five games, and it was the hosts who held t
The draw for the second edition of the women’s Nations League could not have been tougher for Portugal. The Navegadoras landed in Group 3 alongside world champions Spain, European champions England, and Belgium, 19th in the FIFA World rankings.Yet, after the opening week of action, Portugal are join
