Portuguese League: FC Porto-SL Benfica (Key Takeaways)

FC Porto 0-1 SL Benfica (Estádio do Dragão), 21 October 2022 – key takeaways below

Line-up (4x4x2): Diogo Costa, Pepê, Fábio Cardoso, David Carmo, Zaidu; Uribe, Eustáquio, Otávio, Galeno; Evanilson, Taremi

Also played: R Conceição, Wendell, Veron Toni Martinez.

What a let down. Benfica left Porto with the 3 points after a hard fought game, with little football being played and a fair amount of refereeing controversy. Despite playing for over an hour with just 10-men, I don’t think Porto were inferior to Benfica and a draw would have been the correct score. At the end of the day though, Eustáquio got sent off, Bah didn’t, Porto were all heart and little brain, and Benfica scored one. That’s really the summary of this game.

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Portuguese League: Preview of FC Porto-SL Benfica

The most anticipated match still to play in 2022 is taking place on Friday night, as Porto host League-leaders Benfica. After a flying start, Porto stuttered over the month of September, dropping 5 points and allowing Benfica to create a 3 point lead. That makes this match even more important, because I don’t think either team will drop points until the break for the World Cup.

After 9 League games plus at least another 5 in other competitions, I feel like we have a pretty decent idea of what to expect from both teams. In this post I’ve written a preview of what I think we’ll see in this match – highlighting the backdrop of both teams and some of the main tactical considerations on both sides.

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Summer transfer review: We got worse

The transfer window for Portuguese clubs closed last night, with Porto signing Samuel Portugal (a back-up goalkeeper) and without addressing the glaring Vitinha-shaped hole in midfield. In short, we got worse. Let’s take a look at Porto’s dealings in the transfer market in more detail.

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Preview of 2022/23 Portuguese League

The season 2022/23 season started last weekend, with Porto beating Tondela in the Portuguese Supercup final. The new league season is now upon us, with the first Portuguese League match being played this Friday, as Benfica takes on Arouca at home (Porto will be facing Maritimo on Saturday). This post is a preview of the 2022/23 season, where I have set out my expectations for Porto and our main rivals, and what I believe the final outcome may be.

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