The top football category in Portugal kicked off with a bang this weekend, and much to the fans' delight, the most popular clubs in the country all collected three points to start the tournament.
Defending champions Sporting did the honors against the recently promoted Vizela, where they enjoyed a stellar performance by Pedro Gonçalves. Surprisingly, the best team in Round 1 was Tondela, who collected a three-nil win over Santa Clara.
Without further ado, here are the main talking points after Matchday 1 in the Primeira Liga.
Who are the top five Primeira Liga teams for the 2021-22 season after Matchday 1?
Tondela and Sporting both collected three points with three goals for each of them in their first clash of the season, making them the top ranked teams after just one match. Porto also claimed three points with their two-nil win over Belenenses to start their season. Out of the so called "Big Three", Benfica was the one that struggled the most with their 2-1 win over Moreirense, which had to sort out after a red card against Diogo Gonçalves.
Primeira Liga top 3 scorers
Pedro Gonçalves picked up where he left off last season and bagged a brace during his first game with Sporting this season. Tondela's Daniel dos Anjos also claimed a brace during this weekend, establishing himself as one of the best players of the week with his performance.
Primeira Liga – Top headlines
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Pedro Gonçalves will be signing a new deal with Sporting after his impressive 2020-21 season and his start of the current campaign. Reports coming in from Portugal state that the attacking midfielder will become one of the top earning players for Sporting once the deal is signed.
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Benfica have announced that all transfers involving strikers will be frozen out until Haris Seferovic returns to action. The Swiss ace and last season's top scorer picked up an injury in the Eagles' game against Spartak last week and could be out for the next three weeks.
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Defending champions Sporting have confirmed the signing of midfielder Manuel Ugarte. The midfielder will join the Lions for the next five seasons after playing 20 games for Famalicao last season. The Uruguayan's buyout clause with the Lions would force any team that's interested in his services to pay Sporting a bit over €60M.
Top matches to watch in the Primeira Liga from Aug. 13-16, 2021
Benfica vs Arouca: The Eagles will want to add one more win to their start of the season when they host Arouca in their first home game of the campaign. Jorge Jesús' men will want to carry on with their streak against the Arouquenses, which has lasted for four games. This will be the first match between these teams since 2018.
Sporting Braga vs Sporting CP: Braga and Sporting lock horns two weeks after their SuperTaça de Portugal game, which went Sporting's way. Now, Braga will want to win their first game against the defending champions after four straight losses. Their last win against the Lions came in February 2020 with a one-nil score, and fans would surely appreciate a victory of the sort next weekend.
Famaliçao vs Porto: The Dragons were off to a good start at home, and they will want to replicate that on their first match away from home against Famalicao, a team that failed to win their first game of the season against Paços de Ferreira. With this being their first home game of the campaign, Famalicao will want to turn things around for them in front of their supporters.
*Keep track of all the activity in the Portuguese top-flight by following our dedicated Primeira Liga competition page.
