All four Portuguese teams crash out of Europe

Blink and you’ll have missed it: All four of Portugal’s representatives in the UEFA Europa League have left the competition in the round of 32.

Braga were the first to depart; having looked certainties to progress after the first 60 minutes of their first leg clash with Rangers in Scotland last Thursday, they come away with two defeats as they exit the competition 4-2 on aggregate.

It was a great disappointment for the Portuguese outfit, who had done so well to get to this stage of the competition in the first place, coming through two rounds of qualifying versus Brondby and Spartak Moscow, before topping a group containing both Besiktas and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But despite having been unbeaten in 14 matches in European competition, a record stretching back to August 2018, they simply couldn’t suppress a resurgent Rangers, who ended up deserved winners over both legs after a tame Braga showing back at the Quarry ended 0-1 to the visitors.

Then came Thursday - and a night that proved a massacre for the Portuguese sides involved. Porto and Sporting were up first, the former putting up minimal fight as Bayer Leverkusen followed up their 2-1 first leg victory with a 3-1 win in Porto. A crushing 5-2 loss on aggregate for Porto to the Bundesliga side.

Perhaps the most devastating result of them all, though, was Sporting CP. The Lisbon outfit led their Turkish counterparts Istanbul Basaksehir 3-1 after a tremendous display at the Alvalade, their 3-1 lead at half time in the tie not remotely flattering Sporting, who could have had 5 or 6 on the night.

But they were made to rue their missed opportunities in stunning fashion. Basaksehir were a team reborn back in Turkey, and looked the more likely to win right from the off. They raced off to a shock 2-0 lead at half time, meaning Sporting were set to exit the competition on away goals.

Sporting, though, who had never lost on Turkish soil in their entire history, knew that defeat was acceptable, and that just a single goal would change everything. And they got that crucial away goal midway through the second half through an excellent Vietto header.

It looked like Sporting were set to scrape into the round of 16 in uninspiring and unspectacular style - but there was another twist as Istanbul Basaksehir fired home in the 93rd minute to take the game to extra time.

It could have gone either way in overtime, but yet another dramatic twist in the tale in favour of Basaksehir capped a surreal night for Sporting, as Vietto’s clumsy challenge gifted the Turkish side a penalty in the 119th minute. Up stepped Visca, who converted emphatically to secure his brace and send Sporting crashing out in unforgivable style. Cue stunned scenes back home in the Portuguese capital, as Sporting defy the odds to surprise even the most pessimistic of Sporting fans.

Portugal’s hopes of having representation in European competition in March and beyond rested on Benfica, who faced the daunting task of overturning their 2-1 deficit versus Shakhtar Donetsk. In front of their own fans in the Luz, though, Benfica looked to take the game to the Ukrainian champions, and they took the lead through Pizzi early on.

They were never likely to keep a clean sheet though, and they rapidly equalised as Ruben Dias bundled into his own net just 3 minutes later.

Dias made up for the own goal though as he smashed in a header at the other end 10 minutes from half time - and the sides went into the break with the match on a knife-edge.

Benfica struck first after the break, capitalising on an error as Rafa Silva finished exquisitely from the edge of the box, but Benfica again showed sloppiness and naivety, conceding just 2 minutes later. From set to go to extra time, to Benfica in the driving seat, to Shakhtar ahead in the tie, it was a crazy couple of minutes, which summed up the end-to-end nature of the clash.

Ultimately though, Shakhtar showed they had that little more quality than Benfica, and ended up getting another goal through Alan Patrick in the 70th minute to deny Benfica victory on the night as a thrilling encounter ended 3-3.

Benfica played well in the second leg - and can be pleased that they more than held their own - but the other three Portuguese sides will be incredibly frustrated with their inability to make it into the next round as the nation, over the two weeks of Europa League football, end with a shocking collective record of 1 win, 1 draw, and 6 defeats.

Portuguese abroad have much more to cheer about, though, as Wolverhampton Wanderers sailed through to the round of 16 after a 6-3 aggregate victory over relegation-threatened Espanyol.

Meanwhile, four Portuguese managers remain in the competition - Nuno at Wolves joined by Luis Castro (Shakhtar Donetsk), Pedro Martins (Olympiakos) and Paulo Fonseca (AS Roma).

Marlos. Photo author: ФК ШАХТЕР. License link.