The newly-named Liga Sagres has kicked off and our podcast is back to its usual Monday night schedule. This week we review the weekend’s results in full. The two Vítórias, Guimarães and Setúbal, battle out a 1-1 draw. Guimarães are struggling without the very effective Brazillian winger Alan, who moved in the summer to Jorge Jesus’ promising Sporting Braga. They beat Paços de Ferreira 0-2 at Mata Real. Trofense learn the pitfalls of zonal defending, conceding 3 goals in the first 30 minutes of their Liga début away to Sporting. They would eventually get a goal back thanks to a non-existent penalty given by referee Paulo Baptista, a decision that saw Paulo Bento screaming for justice after a series of poor refereeing decisions that have afflicted his Sporting side. It’s business as usual at the Dragão as Porto beat Belenenses comfortably 2-0 thanks to goals by Mariano and Hulk, and Benfica drop 2 points in their first game of the season, drawing 1-1 away to Rio Ave in foggy Vila do Conde. One of the biggest worries for Benfica is the poor form of their new Argentinian playmaker Pablo Aimar who failed to impress during the pre-season and looked lost for long periods on Sunday.
In part 2 we review Carlos Queiroz’s first game in charge of the Selecção, who won 5-0 against that mighty power of international football, the Faroe Islands. Less successful were the U-21 side, who were comfortably defeated 3-2 by the Czech Republic in a game where Inter Milan midfileder Pelé completely lost his head with a dangerous tackle that saw him taking an early bath.
Finally, in part 3 we talk about recent transfer speculation involving FC Porto’s Ricardo Quaresma, Benfica’s Nélson and the loan of Sporting’s Fabio Paim to Chelsea. We also look forward to next weekend’s fixtures, especially the Benfica v FC Porto clássico, and the European games involving Braga and Guimarães.
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