Topics: Benfica, Sporting CP, Estoril, Porto, Primeira Liga
The Lions and Porto enjoyed late victories while league leaders Benfica maintained their healthy lead at the top.

Matchday 7 in the Primeira Liga is done and dusted, with Monday bringing an end to this round, having gotten underway on Friday, September 24. There were no changes to the top three as Benfica, Porto, and Sporting CP enjoyed crucial victories; however, not all of those wins were convincing.

Sporting CP kicked off this round with their clash vs Maritimo on Friday, with the defending champions winning this fixture 1-0 thanks to a penalty deep into stoppage time. A few hours later, Porto took to the field and unfortunately for the Lions, the Dragons also triumphed by a one-goal margin, overcoming Gil Vicente 2-1 to keep ahold of the second spot.

Benfica, meanwhile, were in action on Saturday and made light work of Vitória Guimarães in the end, beating them 3-1 to maintain their four-point lead at the top. Elsewhere, fellow top five sides Sporting Braga and Estoril were held to 1-1 draws by Santa Clara and Boavista respectively. Here's everything you need to know about the recent round in the Primeira Liga.

Who are the top five teams in the Primeira Liga?

Primeira Liga, Benfica, Sporting CP, Porto, Estoril, Sporting Braga, Standings

Primeira Liga top 3 scorers

Primeira Liga, Luiz Diaz, Mehdi Taremi, Roman Yaremchuk

Primeira Liga – top headlines

  • Roman Yaremchuk continued his fine start to the season, guiding Benfica to a lovely 3-1 win over the weekend. The Ukrainian striker scored a brace in that victory, taking his tally for the season to four goals in five top-flight outings.

  • Sporting CP's 1-0 victory on Friday came in thrilling fashion, with Pedro Porro scoring the winning goal via a 98th-minute penalty. What made things all the more crazier is the fact that the Maritimo goalkeeper was sent off, forcing outfield player Edgar Costa to deputize in between the sticks. Unfortunately, the Portuguese attacker could not stop the spot kick.

  • Porto's 2-1 win over Gil Vicente has stretched their unbeaten run to a whopping 35 games, with the Dragons last losing in the Primeira Liga back in October 2020 vs Pacos de Ferreira. This run has seen them win 26 while drawing nine times

Top matches to watch in the Primeira Liga: Oct. 1-3, 2021

Porto vs Paços de Ferreira: Given that Pacos de Ferreira were the last team to beat Porto in the Primeira Liga, their upcoming showdown on Saturday makes our list of must-watch Portuguese top-flight encounters for the upcoming round. The Dragons were made to work hard for their win last Friday, netting the decider with only one minute left in normal time, and will thus need to up their performance this weekend.

Arouca vs Sporting CP: While Arouca look to be one of the favorites to get relegated, Sporting CP have not been enjoying the best of results lately. The defending champions have won only two of their last six outings across all competitions, most recently losing to Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League, and have failed to score more than one goal in a game since August 21. Given Benfica's ruthless form, the Lions cannot afford to drop points.

Benfica vs Portimonense: An interesting test awaits Benfica this weekend as they will host sixth-placed Portimonense. The Eagles have won all seven of their opening fixtures so far and are in amazing form, but Jorge Jesus' men cannot for one second lose focus.

*Keep track of all the activities in the Portuguese top-flight by following our dedicated Primeira Liga competition page.