Lille 4-1 AuxerrePortuguese boss Paulo Fonseca admits he could not have asked for a better debut as coach in Ligue 1, after watching his Lille side hammer newly-promoted Auxerre at the weekend.Lille, who finished 10th last season, hosted Auxerre at the Venue Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Sunday with Tiago
Sporting Braga and Sporting Clube de Portugal started their Primeira Liga campaigns with a spectacular 3-3 draw at the Quarry.It was an electric opening to the contest with Pote putting the Lions ahead in the 9th minute, Simon Banza equalising five minutes later, Nuno Santos restoring Sporting CP's
Porto made a promising start to their Primeira Liga title defence with a routine 5-1 win against Marítimo. Mehdi Taremi netted twice in the first half with Evanilson getting in on the act to establish a 3-0 lead at the break.The Madeiran club had a night to forget on the mainland with further goals
Rio Ave’s return to the Primeira Liga ended in a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Vizela. Nuno Moreira scored the match winning goal in the 66th minute to secure a well deserved victory for the visitors.The Vila do Conde club failed to fashion a shot on target, saw seven players booked, manager Luís
The Roger Schmidt bandwagon rolls on. After 5/5 wins in preseason, Benfica followed up their 4-1 win over Midtjylland in the Champions League in midweek with a 4-0 drubbing of Arouca in the inaugural match of the 2022/23 Primeira Liga season.First-half goals from Gilberto, Rafa Silva and Enzo Fernán
Paris Saint-Germain announced the signing of Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches on Thursday, and the former Benfica man says many factors contributed to his choice to join the French champions.Sanches had long been tipped to join AC Milan until PSG entered the race earlier this summer, with new spor
FC Porto have bought André Franco from Estoril for €4 million. The 24-year-old midfielder has signed a five-year contract at the Estádio do Dragão.It is Porto’s third signing of the close season, after the purchases of David Carmo and Gabriel Veron. Franco began his career in the youth ranks of Spor
Vitória de Guimarães suffered a 3-1 defeat against Hajduk Split in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg. Miguel Maga scored a sensational goal to put the Portuguese club into the lead in the 61st minute before Emir Sahiti equalised six minutes later.Os Conquistadores we
With the new Primeira Liga season about to kick off, Barney & Albert are back with another series of the Long Ball Futebol Podcast, and what better way to kick things off than with a Season Preview Show.In a marathon 3-parter, the boys cover every team from the Primeira Liga, assess their transfer w
The wait is almost over. The Primeira Liga kicks off on Friday night at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, as Benfica host Arouca in the inaugural match of the 2022/23 Bwin Liga season.Ten months from now, in what will be a highly unusual World Cup interrupted season, who will be crowned champions of Por
Gil Vicente’s European debut ended in a morale boosting 1-1 draw against Riga in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg.The Latvian club deserved their half time lead after Douglas Aurélio’s opener, but the second half was a different story.The Gilistas dominated after th
Portugal forward Diogo Jota has been rewarded for his excellent first two seasons at Liverpool with a new contract, tying him to the Premier League club until June 2027.Jota joined the Reds from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2020 for a fee of around €50m. In his two seasons at Anfield the
Benfica 4-1 MidtjyllandIt was a highly satisfactory first competitive match of the season for Benfica who ran out 4-1 winners against Danish outfit Midtjylland in the first leg of the Champions League 3rd qualifying round in Lisbon tonight.Young Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos scored a hat-trick, A
João Félix is preparing for what feels like a vital campaign ahead with Atletico Madrid, having enjoyed arguably the most positive run of form since arriving in Spain towards the latter stages of last season.Félix came off the bench to score a stylish winner for Los Rojiblancos against Manchester Un
Celtic 2-0 AberdeenThe Scottish Premiership kicked off this weekend and for Portuguese star Jota it was a case of picking up where he left off at the end of last season with defending champions Celtic.The former Benfica man scored a wonderful goal as the Hoops beat Aberdeen 2-0 at Celtic Park, havin
It feels like a fresh start for Benfica. For the first time in nearly two decades the Eagles begin the season with a new president in place, the Luís Filipe Vieira era over, replaced by club legend Rui Costa. For the first time since 2008 the Lisbon club have a foreign coach in the dugout, with Germ
Porto added another trophy to the cabinet after a routine 3-0 win against Tondela in the Super Cup. Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson scored within three minutes to establish a 2-0 half time lead, Taremi bagging his brace in the 82nd minute to end a one sided contest.Danny Loader got a rare start for the D
The transfer of former Benfica captain Pizzi to Al Wahda in the United Arab Emirates, coached by Portuguese manager Carlos Carvalhal, was confirmed yesterday.Although it comes as no surprise, the subdued exit and fraught end to Pizzi’s career at the Estádio da Luz feels unsatisfactory for both the p
Bruno Fernandes burst onto the scene at Manchester United in January 2020 with a flurry of goals and assists, finding the target on 12 occasions through 23 appearances while teeing up a further eight efforts for grateful team-mates.His role as a creative talisman for the Red Devils was quickly cemen
Vitória de Guimarães advanced to the Europa Conference League third qualifying round after a 0-0 draw against Puskás Akadémia. The second leg was a match to forget, the hosts lacking the sufficient quality to trouble Bruno Varela who was untested in Hungary.The tie was decided in the first leg at Es
The Portuguese Primeira Liga is one of the most hotly contested leagues in Europe. In Germany, Bayern Munich have reigned supreme for the last ten years. It’s a similar story in France. Barring Burak Yilmaz leading Lille to a shock success a couple of seasons ago, Paris Saint-Germain are head and sh
It was a bad night for Portuguese coaches in the Champions League 2nd qualifying round, with Jorge Jesus and Pedro Martins eliminated at an early stage of the competition with Fenerbahce and Olympiacos respectively.Both managers saw their teams dumped out at home in return legs as 10-man Fener exper
Cristiano Ronaldo’s romantic and nostalgic return to Manchester United last summer put the league on notice that the Red Devils meant business and was a sign that they were in the fight for the title. But it was not the fairytale story that United fans were hoping for.Since the momentous unveiling o
Portuguese youngster Fábio Silva has wasted little time making himself a hero at new club Anderlecht, after scoring just minutes after entering the action on his debut at the weekend.Silva, who arrived in Belgium on a season-long loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, came on with around ten m
