Dramatic day in Primeira Liga title race with the Lisbon Derby and a drastic Porto capitulation
Today marked the first Lisbon Derby of the season, with Benfica playing host to arch rivals Sporting in a battle that saw neither side emerge victorious, while Porto also took on summer-spenders Guimarães at the Dragão in what proved to be a game of two halves.
Both Benfica and Sporting went into the match having earned six points from a possible six, getting off to the perfect start in their charge for the title - but somebody had to drop points today.
The first half came to an end with no goals coming to fruition, but Benfica looked to be the side on top for the majority, forcing Sporting goalkeeper Salin into a string of impressive saves.
However, despite Benfica's home advantage and apparent dominance, it was Sporting that took the lead after some careless Ruben Dias defending on Fredy Montero led to a penalty being awarded which was eventually dispatched by club legend Nani, which was his third league goal of the season.
After Sporting scored just after the hour mark, it was the hosts that were the side pushing forward in search of the equaliser, and it was substitute João Felix, just 18 years of age, that proved the hero for Benfica, headering home his first ever senior goal with just a few minutes left on the clock, much to the jubilation of the red side of Lisbon.
Despite Benfica pushing on for a winner, the match came to a close at 1-1, with both sides sharing the points and making the title race even more unpredictable.
Elsewhere, Porto earned a 2-0 lead at halftime with goals from Andre Pereira and Yacime Brahimi, giving Porto a healthy advantage at the end of the first 45 minutes, with Porto looking set to continue their 100% winning start to the campaign.
Their second goal came with a great deal of fortune though, with a breakdown in communication between the on-field referee and the VAR for approximately 30 minutes meaning that potential offside decisions were unable to be checked, and as such, despite Pereira being in an offside position when the ball was delivered, the decision could not be overturned.
However, their lead came under increasing pressure in the second half, and it was ex-Porto midfielder that was leading Guimarães back from the brink of defeat, looking a constant problem for Porto and eventually converting from the penalty spot.
Diminutive winger Tozé then made it Deja Vu for Porto, bringing the scores back to level terms despite initially being 2-0 down, just as happened with Porto last week against Belenenses.
However, while they still managed to nick victory against Belenenses last round with a last-gasp penalty being converted by Alex Telles, no such luck was on their side this time around, with Davidson finding the back of the net with just a couple of minutes remaining.
Despite late Porto pressure to get the game back on level terms, Douglas Jesus pulled off some excellent saves to frustrate Porto and earn Guimarães a memorable victory over the reigning champions, a result which could put a big dent in their aspirations to regain the title they had to wait several years to conquer
