Sporting CP v Sport Lisboa e Benfica

Sporting CP v Sport Lisboa e Benfica 

Sunday April 19th, 2026

Matchday 29

Estádio José Alvalade 

The warm up 

I appreciate there's a lot of people suffering in the world right now for a multitude of reasons far beyond their control so I'm going to try to tread lightly with what follows. As I write, our next four games are a Dérbi, a Champions League knockout, another Dérbi and then a Clássico. Whose chips did we piss on in the month of March? Fuck me. Probably by the time you read this we'll have played Estrela and Arsenal and my God you really couldn't have written that Viktor Gyökeres would miss a penalty and that the lions would now be thinking about a Champions League Semi Final having overturned their 1-0 first leg defeat. I mean what a season. The defeat to Estrela with a Jovane hat-trick admittedly was a bitter pill to swallow but I always said he'd come good at some point. In all seriousness though it feels like a lot and a genuine test for not only the squad but of Rui Borges in turn. I imagine trying to navigate the Strait of Hormuz would be an easier proposition right now. Oh and if you happen to be reading this way in the future then it's clearly good news and we didn't blow up the World in 2026’s dick swinging contest. 

At the time of writing some are still alluding to the fact that the dirty pigeons could do the most pointless invincibles season in the Liga’s history though the lions of course will be looking to put their unbeaten run to an end if in fact it hasn't already been done by Nacional this Sunday. Stranger things happen at sea and they're equally desperate for the points to stay up as Benfica are to try ensure a top two finish in their hunt for Champions League qualification. With the words from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ringing in my ears about assumption being the mother of all fuck ups, let's still assume that the lions have beaten Estrela and that Benfica have beaten Nacional. That would keep the gap going into this game at 2 points with the lions still to play their game in hand against Tondela so let's also assume on paper at least that the gap is really five points. At no stage have I committed any discussion to paper about the three-peat this season so I'm also going to assume this Dérbi ends up being a straight shootout for second place and that Porto crawl over the line to win the title. A win for the neighbours would take them temporarily up to second by a point but they're going to need us to slip up twice in much the same way we'd need Porto to do. So let's really fuck up and assume that the sides will finish as they currently stand first through third. What a difference eleven months make when this time last season all the talk was about this game in May being the title decider, albeit played in the Stadium of Shite and not at the José Alvalade. Then the lions had the advantage that a draw would be enough and that's what they came away with having stunned the home fans into silence with just three minutes gone through Trincão. Even with the Akturkoglu equaliser on 62 minutes, some defending that felt like the back three all should have had a nervous poo at half time and Esgaio being sent off despite not having even been on the pitch, the players they did enough to see the game over the line and as history shows we ended up back to back league title winners and gained revenge on their Taça da Liga final win on penalties four months previous.

It appears that finally the neighbours have stopped bemoaning their loss in the Taça de Portugal so now seems an ideal opportunity for us to bring it back up and I remind readers that we won 3-1 after extra time in Gyökeres swansong as a lion. We might bemoan Arsenal leaving it late for their win on Tuesday but let's face it Gyökeres’ goal on plus ten to make it 1-1 is next level and a timely reminder that when your players spend large periods of the half play acting, that time gets added on and frequently to the benefit of the opponents and to your own detriment if you've failed to put the game to bed by that point. And yes they regained some face in the 1-0 win in the Supertaça but in a game of you show me yours and I'll show you mine, putting the Taça da Liga and Supertaça on the table only to see the Liga and the Taça de Portugal coming back at you is no contest. Only the late Walt Disney would try to argue otherwise if it was his side in possession of the two Mickey Mouse trophies. In December the two sides played out a 1-1 draw with Gonçalves opening the scoring and Sudakov equalising. Is it me or does he sound like the name of a cough medicine which would have felt incredibly apt for the time of year and might have cured my koff’s that night which were very much predicated by oh fuc. 

It would appear that the mister José Mourinho is about to be rewarded for his first season failure as somehow his second season contract rises from €3m per annum to €4m though that could also just be bad reporting and not taking into account a part year compared to a full but let's not ruin the moment with my autistic brain where these things jump out at me and I spoil the obvious. Oh wait, maybe I already did, my bad. Farioli is estimated to be on roughly half that figure at FC Porto and Rui Borges on one third that figure now and set to be on half next year's salary of Mourinho if he signs a new contract which would double his basic to €2m annually. As for the now forgotten Bruno Lage, well he was on a reported €1.5m and Al Alhy are said to have offered him €3.5m to take over with them so he might have the last laugh financially at least. Since his taking charge, after 24 games the so-called special one has a win ratio of 2:3 collecting 56 points from 16 wins and 8 draws. It may well be that Benfica do go unbeaten all season but unlike the combined efforts of Messrs Amorim, Pereira and Borges for the lions last season, for those combined of Lage and Mourinho, the Supertaça is going to be a poor investment on their return. What's the point of having an invincibles season if all you win is the Portuguese equivalent of the Charity Shield? What really was the point in changing misters from Lage to Mourinho?

There's a danger with these posts that I'm repeating myself but the point will always stand that every season, no matter how the last one ended and who was champion, that Benfica always start the new campaign as favourites to win the league title. They've the biggest budget in Portugal, the biggest wage bill and generally history will tell you that the latter is the factor which wins sides the title and not how much you spend on players. But this season they've regressed from where they were under Roger Shit and Bruno Lage. Sorry Schmidt. How many times will I make that typo? in the time it took me to eat a bag of crisps I was trying to remember off the top of my head anything about their season that didn't involve Sporting and here's what I could remember; they sacked Lage and put in Mourinho, played the world's dullest Clássico with Porto, lost to Porto in the Taça 1-0, Trubin scored against Real Madrid only to find they then drew Real Madrid in the play offs where Prestianni allegedly racially abuses Vinícius Jnr. Oh and Casa Pia nicked a point from them but that's simply me being benefited by a memory in the short term. That's clearly not good enough for a side the size of our rivals and if the allegations about Prestianni are proven then I'm not sure where to even begin with that one. Imagine the end of this season where you could have a player banned from Benfica for racially abusing an opponent, Alberto Costa banned for allegedly spitting at Sorriso and yet Sporting are the bad guys because Hjulmand scored from a corner that shouldn't have been. World’s gone fucking mental. All things considered though, Benfica are in a hole which they can't seem to dig themselves out of. I don't get that expression by the way it hurts my autistic brain. Surely you'd climb out versus digging which would take you deeper, no? Anyways, it's incredible what happens when you take the status quo for granted. Benfica are like the record industry, they once had a licence to print money and had all the big names on their client roster. Sporting are a modern day Spotify, they're the disrupters to the traditional industry. Bruno Lage was seen as a yes man for Rui Costa, I imagine that Mourinho is viewed in much the same way. At some point fans patience is going to snap, if it's not already done so and as sets of fans go they're a whiny bunch of cunts, albeit a set who are easily quietened on a Matchday when they go a goal down and in turn performing fire drill exits and catching an early bus home from Jamor. Honestly what a bunch of entitled fucking pricks their fan base are. Fuck me. Where was I? Oh yes Benfica are shit and their fans aren't going to put up with it are they? So do they change mister again? You imagine some fans might want Ruben Amorim but I never wanted Jorge Jesus and seeing your ex-player lead your rivals to two titles and lay the foundation for a third is a bitter pill to swallow like Jovane’s hat-trick will be for me tomorrow night. Do Benfica just become like Manchester United where the money keeps coming in and those at the top don't really care as long as they make the Champions League somehow and they'll always find someone to flip in the market to balance the books out. At one stage Mourinho was definitely the Special One but times have changed and the game has moved on. Although that being said Arsenal are a billion pound Tony Pulis side so maybe he'll be en vogue once more next campaign?

Look if they go unbeaten in the league then fair play to them and for that they can have my genuine respect although I will caveat that statement by pointing out with the biggest budget in Portugal you shouldn't ever be losing to anyone from fifth down in my books and your challenge every season is merely a case of - can you beat Sporting in the Dérbi, Porto in the Clássico and always the bridesmaids Sporting Braga? I don't think it's unfair to claim they've grown too comfortable in their position of financial dominance. They needed someone with an ounce of charisma who could have challenged Rui Costa in the elections. Given this is Benfica I guess charisma is in short supply. Found someone who doesn't think the solution comes in hiring yesterday's man. Mourinho has been on the slide for a long time and having done a number on Fenerbaçhe whilst in Turkey, must have bitten Costa's hand off to go to Benfica and be involved in the Champions League because it's now Saudi Arabia or relative obscurity as a national team coach that's left for him at this late stage in his career. They're in real danger of becoming as relevant as Saudi Arabian football and they might have Ronaldo gracing their football pitches but other than his legion of sycophants no one is tuning in to watch their games, they're only relevance is to the bank balance of clubs who sell into their market and the bank balances of course of those who ply their trade there. Benfica must have paid Di Maria a small fortune annually and it would be no surprise if they do the same with Bernardo Silva when his City contract runs out in the summer. I don't think however he's alone going to be enough for Benfica to tip the balance back in their favour and Mourinho is not Pep Guardiola as has long been established. 

Financially Porto were given a get out of jail free card with the Club World Cup in the summer which allowed them some wiggle room in the transfer market and Champions League football will keep their heads above water for next but they're built on a house of cards and right now the lions whilst adding to their debt are doing it to build future infrastructure that will pay its dividends in the long run. This will be a season remembered however not for the football played but for two clubs not just tarnishing the reputation of Portuguese football but absolutely fucking torching it. This should be an opportunity for Portuguese authorities to clean up their house and get it back in order but they won't do it. The fact that clubs can try to referee a game they weren't involved in after the final whistle through the courts blows my mind. Portugal is surely the only country you can try to litigate your way to a league title. Is that the way as a fan you'd want your club to win a title because it's not the way I'd want Sporting to try win it. Everything is leaving a sour taste in the mouth and it would be nice if next Sunday football does the talking but you wouldn't put your money on it being the case. 

So as we've established after 28 games for Benfica they're 2 points behind in 3rd going into the weekend of the 11th, won 19, drawn 9, lost 0, GF 59, GA 18. Even a child can tell you had they just gone for it in enough games of the 9 drawn, even if they'd won 4 and lost 5 they'd be 3 points better off than being unbeaten up until this point. Of the 59 goals scored 36 have come from penalties. I'm lying, that's a Braga stat, 36 from open play, 10 set pieces, 10 penalties and our old friend own goal has 3. They're out performing their Xg of 53.3. Their away record reads played 14, won 10, drawn 4, GF 26, GA 8 and incredibly they've won more points on the road albeit that's a difference of plus two. Top scorer Vangelis Pavlidis with 21. Sidny Lopes Cabral listed as having 6 but 5 of those were for Estrela. Schjelderup, Sudakov and Ivanovic with 4 apiece. In all 19 players not including own goals have found the net which has to be a positive but you can see they're clearly over reliant on their Greek forward. 

Statistically the second best side in the league for goals scored and third best defence keeping 13 clean sheets to date so just shy of 1:2. Third highest average possession at 59.3% but they do at least have the highest average attendance at 58,897. Second highest XG, second highest average shots per game with 5.9. Second for big chances created with 86 and second for big chances missed with 47. Top for accurate crosses per match on 5.3.*Wolf whistles. Ten penalties awarded, 100% conversion rate. Top for total corners won with 192. 

Outperforming their Xg conceded of 21.6 they've conceded 3 penalties of which 2 have been converted. Fewest average fouls per game on 11.2 (now there's a surprise) and just the 56 yellow cards shown, second lowest total. Some justice meted out for opponents this campaign however as they've at least had three red cards having had no one sent off at all last season. Remember though good people's it's the lions that have the referees in their pockets. Definitely not Porto and oh boy definitely not Benfica the most powerful side in Portuguese football oh no. 

Winter window 

Incoming 

Rafa Silva from Beşiktaş for £5.8m

Sidny Lopes Cabral from Estrela for £5m.

Last time out -

https://outsideofthepride.blogspot.com/2025/11/sport-lisboa-e-benfica-v-sporting-cp.html

We pick the neighbours season up from after the Dérbi played in December.

Champions League Round 6 - Napoli (H) Ríos gives them a first half lead on 19 and Barreiro doubles the lead just 3 minutes into the second half to secure a 2-0 win and 3 valuable points against Antonio Conte’s side where the lions had previously failed on Italian soil. Xg 2.22 to 0.64, the Italians missed their 1 big chance, Benfica 2 of 3.

Matchday 14 - Moreirense (A) A resounding 4-0 win away is spearheaded by Pavlidis who completes a hat-trick with goals on 35, 56 and 69 with Aursnes adding the 4th on 75. Xg .51 to just 1.00 for the visitors despite their 4 goals. Benfica miss 1 of 3 big chances, Moreirense fail to create a single one.

Taça de Portugal round 5 - Farense (A) In Faro a Ríos goal on 10 gives the visitors the lead against their second division opponents. Otamendi missed a penalty on 27 before Ivanovic wraps up a 2-0 win on 55. Xg 0.55 to 1.94, Farense missed their only big chance, Benfica converted one of their 3. Their reward is a Clássico at the Dragão. 

Matchday 15 - Famalicão (H) A 33rd minute penalty secured all 3 points with a 1-0 win. Famalicão record just 4 attempts at an Xg of 0.21 with 0 big chances. The penalty is Benfica’s only big chance recording an Xg of 1.28 largely propped up by the goals Xg of 0.79. 

Matchday 16 - Braga (A) Despite taking a 28th minute lead through Otamendi, by half time the Fraggles have a 2-1 lead courtesy of a Zalazar penalty on 37 and Pau Victor's goal on the stroke of half time. Aursnes levels 7 minutes into the second half and points shared in a 2-2 draw. Xg 1.70 to 1.23, Braga score 2 of their 3 big chances were as crucially Benfica missed 2 of their 3.

Matchday 17 - Estoril (H) Pavlidis starts the new year off with another match ball to add to his collection. His penalty on 33 makes it 1-0, his second goal on 45 makes it 2-0. Carvalho however pulls one back just 2 minutes later to give them hope. The Greeks third eleven minutes from time puts the game to bed with a 3-1 win. Xg 2.27 to 0.71. Critically Benfica convert all their 3 big chances whereas Estoril missed both of theirs. 

Taça da Liga Semi Final - Braga (H) Any hopes of silverware in 2026 were severely dented in the space of just seven days. In Leiria goals from Pau Victor (18) and Zalazar (32) give the Fraggles a 2-1 lead. Pavlidis pulled one back from a penalty on 63. Lagerbielke makes it 3-1 ten minutes before time. Otamendi’s red card for a second booking 2 minutes before the end of the 90 makes no difference to the scoreline and the cup holders let go of their grip on the title. Xg 1.85 to 2.35. Attempts 19 to just 7 however, of those 7, 5 were big chances of which they converted 3. Benfica missed 1 of their 2.

Taça de Portugal Quarter Final - Porto (A). The mister Mourinho took his charges to the Dragão where he famously forged his reputation looking to get one over on his old side. Bednarek’s goal after 14 minutes however proved decisive for a 1-0 win and with that Benfica are out of both Portugal's cup competitions having at least made the final of both last season under Bruno Lage. Let's not forget either that it was Lage in charge when they won the Supertaça way back in August. Xg 0.76 to 1.65. Both sides guilty of missing their only big chance. 

Matchday 18 - Rio Ave (A) The visitors race to a 2-0 lead first through Barreiro on 15 and then Ntoi puts through his own net on 24. Neither side can add to the tally. Xg 0.20 to 1.78. Ave fail to create a single big chance, whereas Benfica created 4, however they missed 3.

Champions League Round 7 - Juventus (A) If the misters reaction from Porto fans might be mixed depending on the age group of the fans in question, theres no doubting the hate for him from the fans in Turin. Therefore they'll have revelled in a 2-0 win with goals from Thurham on 54 and McKennie on 63. Defeat leaves Mourinho and Benfica looking at failure to qualify as one of the 24 from the group phase. Xg 1.36 to 1.44. Benfica missed their only big chance, the Italians 1 of 2. 

Matchday 19 - Estrela (H) Tough night for the visitors in the Dérbi as first goals from Pavlidis on 41 and a penalty on 54 put them 2-0 down. Then Sidny Lopes Cabral who they sold to Benfica days before makes it 3-0 just 3 minutes later and another Cabral, this time Anisio makes it 4-0 on 83. In a woeful night just 3 attempts total from the visitors, Xg 2.53 to 0.13. Incredibly one of those 3 attempts recorded as a big chance, that must have been some miss if your Xg was only 0.13. Benfica missed 2 of 3. 

Champions League Matchday 8 - Real Madrid (H) The mister faced off against another of his old sides and saw them take a 1-0 lead from Mbappé after 29 minutes. However Schjelderup equalised on 35, a Pavlidis penalty 4 minutes into additional time makes it 2-1 at half time. Schjelderup makes it 3-1 on 53 before Mbappé scores his second on 57 for 3-2. What follows after 90 minutes is the home side desperately trying to hold onto a meaningless win, unaware that their biggest rivals have just opened a huge door for them with a late winner in Bilbao to leapfrog Real Madrid into the top 8 and crucially if they can find another goal they'd take the last spot in the playoffs. Finally the message got through onto the pitch and it was goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin who made it 4-2 seven minutes into time added on, job done. Xg 3.01 to 1.50. Benfica recorded EIGHT big chances and missed 5. Real score 2 of their 3. 

Matchday 20 - Tondela (A) Despite recording 24 attempts for an Xg of 2.10 the visitors failed to put a single one away despite creating 4 big chances. The promoted side managed just 6 attempts, missed 1 big chance for an Xg of just 0.48. Huge point gained got them from the 0-0, 2 points dropped for Benfica. 

Matchday 21 - Alverca (H) Schjelderup opened the scoring on 15, Figueiredo made it 1-1 on 29. Despite their best efforts to drop 2 more points against another promoted side, an Anisio Cabral goal 5 minutes before time secured a 2-1 win. 29 attempts to 6, Xg 1.97 to 1.14. Both teams guilty of missing 1 of 2 of their big chances. 

Matchday 22 - Santa Clara (A) Pavlidis makes it 1-0 on 15 and the visitors helped by a Victor own goal on 37 minutes to double their advantage. Paciência scores a minute into the second half to make it 2-1 but Benfica held on. The home side reduced to ten a minute after the 90 when Lucas Soares picked up a second yellow card. Xg 0.28 to 1.19. Benfica miss 2 of 3 big chances, Santa don't create a single one. 

Champions League Play Off First leg - Real Madrid (H) Some 20 days after the two clubs met on Matchday 8 in a game to be savoured by the home fans, what followed here can only politely be classed as highly unsavoury. This will forever be remembered for the stoppage in play in the second half after Prestianni lifts up his shirt to cover his mouth and says something that you suspect only the Argentine halfwit and Vinícius Jnr will only ever know what was really said. However it's alleged that he calls the Brazilian a monkey, something the Benfica player vehemently denies and claims instead that it was some form of homophobic slur as if that's any better in modern society. After a long delay the game does get back underway and finished 1-0 to Real Madrid. Vinícius has the last laugh with his goal 4 minutes into the second half though he's shown a yellow for his celebration with the corner flag. Mourinho doesn't help the situation in his post game comments and talks like he's stepped in dog shit and is busy trending it through the carpet. In the home stand opposite the dugout certain sections of fans can clearly be seen directing racist abuse at the Brazilian. Dark night for Benfica and for Portuguese football as a whole. Not that it matters in the grand context but the Xg 0.47 to 0.89. Real miss all 4 of their big chances and Benfica failed to create a single one. 

Matchday 23 - AVS (H) The bottom sides season of misery marches on unrelentingly as they lose again, this time 3-0. Goals from Bah after 10, Barrenechea on 29 and Silva on 42. 22 attempts to 3, Xg 3.69 to 0.11. Benfica miss 4 of 5 big chances with AVS failing to create a single one.

Champions League Playoffs Second Leg - Real Madrid (A) Prestianni is given a provisional one match ban and misses the return leg in the Bernabéu. Rafa Silva draws the tie level at 1-1 on 13 minutes. Tchouaméni however restored Real’s advantage just 2 minutes later. Güler has a goal ruled out for offside on 31. Perhaps fittingly after the trials and tribulations in Lisboa, it's Vinícius who makes it 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate 11 minutes from time to knock Benfica out. His trade mark goal celebration for which he got booked for in Lisboa goes unpunished this time around. On the field at least justice is served for both Vinícius and Real Madrid. It should be noted that Prestianni travelled with the matchday squad which leaves another bad taste in the mouth. Xg 0.98 to 1.64, both sides missed 1 of 2 big chances. Benfica now out of all 3 cup competitions.

Matchday 24 - Gil Vicente (A) Silva opens the scoring on 34 for the visitors. Hernández levels on 50. Schjelderup secured all 3 points when his goal on 71 minutes made it 2-1. Xg 0.88 to 0.75, Gil scored their one big chance, Benfica missed theirs. 

Matchday 25 - Porto (H) After a Clássico which put large parts of Portugal to sleep at the Dragão, the two sides served up some much needed entertainment in the reverse fixture. The league leaders go 2-0 up with goals from Froholdt on 9 and Pietuszewski on 39. Schjelderup pulled a goal back on 68 and Barreiro secured a point equalising 3 minutes from time to make it 2-2. Any slim chances of catching up with Porto now all but evaporated and Mourinho’s season will only be rescued if he can get his side to leapfrog Sporting into second place in the closing weeks of the campaign. Xg 1.23 to 2.12. Porto guilty of missing 2 of their 3 big chances, Benfica scored both theirs.

Matchday 26 - Arouca (A). Babero gives Arouca the lead on 6 minutes from the penalty spot. Benfica equalise 4 minutes into the second half through Ríos. The points looked set to be shared when Ivanovic scored the winner five minutes after the end of the 90. Xg 2.40 to 2.10. Both sides create 4 big chances, importantly for Benfica they scored two of theirs whereas Arouca missed 3 and left kicking themselves for failing to take anything away from the game. 

Matchday 27 - Vitória (H) Prestianni opened the scoring on 14. Pavlidis made it 2-0 on 54 and a Beni own goal made it 3-0 on 73. Despite Vitória having 16 attempts to 12, Benfica’s Xg 2.34 to 0.75. The visitors missed their only big chance, Benfica created six, missing 4.

Matchday 28 - Casa Pia (A) Ríos opened the scoring on 67 but Rafael Brito’s equaliser on 77 gives both sides a share of the points with a 1-1 draw. Xg 0.29 to 1.93. Casa Pia missed 1 of 2 big chances, Benfica 3 of 4.

Matchday 29 - Nacional (H) Update to follow. 

In the markets 

Sporting CP

Draw

Benfica