Benfica came away from Funchal with a vital 1-0 victory over high-flying Marítimo on Sunday night.
The Eagles went into the match under intense pressure after FC Porto had won earlier in the weekend.
Marítimo are the only team to have beaten Benfica this season, knocking them out of the Portuguese Cup, and the islanders again proved an extremely demanding obstacle for the Lisbon giants.
Oscar Cardozo's glaring miss in the first half seemed likely to prove costly as Benfica struggled to break down Marítimo's well-organised defense, even after the hosts had been reduced to ten men following Olberdam's sending off at the start of the second half.
However, with five minutes remanining Oscar Cardozo atoned for his earlier miss with a close-range tap-in to secure all three points for Benfica, and take them back to joint top of the table.
Marítimo are the only team to have beaten Benfica this season, knocking them out of the Portuguese Cup, and the islanders again proved an extremely demanding obstacle for the Lisbon giants.
Oscar Cardozo's glaring miss in the first half seemed likely to prove costly as Benfica struggled to break down Marítimo's well-organised defense, even after the hosts had been reduced to ten men following Olberdam's sending off at the start of the second half.
However, with five minutes remanining Oscar Cardozo atoned for his earlier miss with a close-range tap-in to secure all three points for Benfica, and take them back to joint top of the table.
