It’s back to the traditional three parts this week as we let you know about this weekend’s round of games. In Part 1 we focus on the contrasting fortunes of Porto and Sporting; the former are looking very ordinary as they drop points at home to Paços de Ferreira, while the latter look red hot as the rejuvenated Lisbon team beat Nacional 3-2 thanks to 2 excellent Liedson goals.

In part 2 we focus on a familiar old topic, dodgy refereeing. Benfica definitely benefitted from some outrageous refereeing decisions as they smashed Marítimo 0-5 in Madeira. Braga were also fortunate to get a dubious penalty as they broke André Villas Boas’ impressive 100% home record in charge of Académica to come away with a 0-2 victory.

Finally, in part 3 we focus on the other games we failed to cover in the earlier parts. Setúbal are impressing Steve without actually winning games, Castro might be Olhanense’s answer to Steven Gerrard, Belenenses are awful again and Rio Ave really missed Fábio Farias and the player André Vilas (with one ‘l’) Boas as Ronny-tastic Leiria beat them 0-2.

Please do leave us some comments and let us know you’re out there and listening. It was very sad for us to have nobody to talk to but ourselves this weekend!

Thanks for listening,

Steve and Phil

Subject 1 – Goalkeepers in Portugal: they’re a bit good aren’t they? Even the two goalkeepers we constantly bash, Sporting’s Rui Patrício and Porto’s Helton, looked on tip-top form between the sticks in last weekend’s clássico.

Subject 2 – Thrashings in the Liga: are teams weaker than ever? We discuss this and come up with a yes-ish and no-ish opinion. Despite there being a lot of very poor quality teams in this year’s Portuguese league, the two promoted teams are showing old hands how to be well organised and brave when facing bigger teams.

Subject 3 -  Olhanense’s amazing young players, Castro, Rabiola and Ukra. Despite losing their last two games, these three young players have caught the attention of football fans in the country. We give our opinion on their ability and their futures.

We’ll also talk a little bit about last weekend’s elections for the Portuguese government and look forward to this weekend’s upcoming fixtures.

Back at the normal time next week … with a following wind. Please keep your comments coming in. It’s always good to have new perspectives on the game here.

Thanks for listening,

Steve and Phil