Benfica 2-0 Aves; Portimonense 3-2 Guimaraes; Feirense 0-0 Nacional; Tondela 2-0 Moreirense
Benfica continued their unbeaten start to the season with a comprehensive 2-0 win over Aves, while Portimonense managed to finally get a victory this season, toppling summer spenders Guimaraes in an epic five-goal encounter.
Benfica took the lead 34th minute courtesy of teenage star Joao Felix, an wonderful moment for the young midfielder who showed great composure to chip the keeper after a great defence-splitting through-ball from the early player of the season in Pizzi. Felix’s night was ruined however when he suffered a foot injury early in the second half.
Franco Cervi rounded off the victory with a deflected volley just past the hour mark after Andre Almeida slotted in the Argentine winger.
But the big story of the day came from Portimonense, where the hosts pulled of an impressive 3-2 victory over heavy favourites Guimaraes. Having only earned 1 point from their first 4 games, Portimonense were certainly in desperate need of getting some more points on the board, and their star man of last season, Shoya Nakajima, finally stepped up to the mark, scoring a wonderfully worked goal after just 5 minutes. Taking the long ball down with a wonderful first touch, he wriggled one way and the other and shrugged off two defenders before slotting home his left-footed shot into the bottom right corner and past Douglas Jesus.
Guimaraes eventually found the equaliser twenty minutes into the second half courtesy of an impressive own goal from centreback Jadson, but their comeback was shortlived when Nakajima turned provider when he played the ball into Paulinho who turned and blasted the ball into the back of the net.
However, Guimaraes yet again came back from behind, this time with just 8 minutes of the game remaining, after an exceptional well-placed effort from former Benfica man Ola John, who delicately curled the ball to the left of the keeper from well outside the box.
And it was Guimaraes who dominated for the following few minutes, pushing forward for the winner that for so long looked very unlikely. An yet it was Portimonense who clinched all three points right at the death, after a mistimed jump led to a terrible defensive header from Falaye Sacko which played Shoya Nakajima in on goal, who used his pace and finishing to great effect as he sprinted away from the Guimaraes defence before lobbing the on-running goalkeeper.
Tondela, meanwhile, clinched a crucial victory over fellow-strugglers Moreirense, with Xavier getting a brace, while Feirense, who started the season so promisingly, drew agaisnt relegation battlers CD Nacional.
The full table shows that Benfica are back on top, with Sporting and Braga playing each other on Monday in what is sure to be a fascinating encounter.
