Benfica made light work of a potentially tricky fixture as they travelled to Barcelos and thrashed Gil Vicente 5-0 on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles require six points from their last three games to retain the title.
FC Porto refuse to throw in the towel though. A goal in each half from Brahimi and Jackson Martínez kept the Dragons just three points behind their bitter rivals.
Sporting guaranteed third place and qualification for the Champions League playoff thanks to a 2-0 win over Nacional at the Alvalade, while Boavista ensured survival in the top flight after beating Moreirense at the Bessa.
Gil Vicente 0-5 Benfica
Jorge Jesus sprang a surprise with his starting line-up, selecting Sulejmani in place of the injured Salvio. It was the Serbian's first start of the season.
Although 3 points clear at the top of the table, Benfica fans have been wary of celebrating early after two late collapses in 2011/12 and 2012/13 let in Porto to snatch the championship from their grasp. And a trip to a ground where they have struggled in recent seasons, with improving Gil in desperate need of points, offered a potential banana skin.
That notion was quickly put to bed. Benfica dominated from start to finish and were two up after 22 minutes thanks to two excellent goals. First a swift passing move between Lima and Sulejmani set up Maxi Pereira for an easy finish, then some fine wing play by Gaitán saw the Argentine skin his man and centre perfectly for Jonas who produced an unerring first-time finish into the corner of the net with his right foot.
Júlio César showed what a fine addition he has been to Benfica this season with two sharp saves as Gil briefly threatened to make a game of it, but a towering header from captain Luisão immediately after the break to make it 3-0 ended all doubts about the result.
Benfica accentuated their domination and it was no surprise when Lima and the indefatigable Maxi Pereira added further goals.
Victories in their final two home matches against Penafiel and Marítimo will be enough for Benfiquistas the world over to celebrate, regardless of what happens in the intervening fixture away at Vitória Guimarães.
Round-up
Porto went into their match against Vitória Setúbal fighting against a remarkable statistic. The northerners had failed to win any of their last 12 Liga matches south of Coimbra. A continuation of that run would have all but ended the title race. But a solid if unspectacular performance kept Julen Lopetegui's side's slim hopes of overhauling Benfica alive. Brahimi's 15th-minute strike was reward for a dominant first-half performance from the Dragons. The second half was a more even affair but Jackson's late strike made sure of the points.
The ease with which a second-string Sporting overcame Nacional only served to confirm that the top three in Portugal are at a different level from all the rest this season. Marco Silva was without regular starters Slimani (injured), William Carvalho (suspended) and João Mário, Adrien and Nani (rested) but still won relatively comfortably thanks to two 2nd-half goals from Colombian striker Fredy Montero.
Boavista officially confirmed their top-flight status for another season after a 3-1 home win over Moreirense. An Idrissa Mandiang brace and another goal from promising forward Zé Manuel did the business for Petit's team, the manager having done a magnificent job to keep a side that was in the third tier last season in the upper echelons of Portuguese football with less angst than one would expect.
Results:
Boavista 3-1 Moreirense
Gil Vicente 0-5 Benfica
Marítimo 1-1 Arouca
Penafiel 0-0 Académica
Sporting 2-0 Nacional
Vitória Guimarães 2-0 Estoril
Vitória Setúbal 0-2 FC Porto
Tomorrow:
Belenenses-Rio Ave
Paços de Ferreira-Braga
