The top football category in Portugal has given us one of the most interesting weekends of the season, with Porto now getting closer to the title at Sporting's expense.
The Dragons have carried on with their impressive winning streak after a narrow victory against Boavista, which kept their lead at the top of the competition. What really stands out is that the Dragons have kept their unbeaten run after 27 games, and with seven matches left, the possibility of winning the title without a loss keeps growing.
In other matches, Sporting and Benfica kept their pursuit of the leaders with convincing wins, especially in Sporting's case, who claimed an away win after bouncing back against Vitoria Guimaraes. The Lions are the team with the most chances of leapfrogging Porto, but to do that, Sergio Conceicao's team needs to drop points.
With that under consideration, let's have a look at how things stand after this weekend in the Portuguese league.
Primeira Liga - Top 5 teams after Matchday 27
Porto are six points clear from Sporting in the title race with seven games left in the tournament. As for the defending champions, they are still six points ahead of Benfica in the race for second place. Benfica seem to have secured the third spot, as Braga are 12 points behind them and with their mind set in making it as far as they can in the UEFA Europa League. Gil Vicente are fifth, three points behind Braga and 15 away from the third spot.
Primeira Liga top 3 scorers
Darwin Núñez is the league's top scorer with twenty goals, followed by Ricardo Horta who has found the back of the net fifteen times. The third place of the goalscorer race still belongs to Luis Díaz, although he left to play for Liverpool back in January.
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Primeira Liga – Top headlines
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Porto set new record in history against Boavista - The Dragons' unbeaten run kept going with a one-nil win against Boavista, which became their ninth consecutive victory against the checkered side since Boavista returned to the Portuguese top-flight. That run has turned into the longest winning streak for Porto against Boavista in Liga Portugal history.
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Vitoria - Sporting suspended for six minutes due to fight among fans - The defending champions were struggling to beat Vitoria last Saturday, and things got even more complicated when a fight broke out in the stands. The referee was forced to suspend the game until the unrest between local supporters was suffocated by police officers.
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Benfica put up second best unbeaten run of the season - The Eagles have struggled all season due to the poor results during Jorge Jesús' final days at the helm, but with their current run of nine games without a loss, the red and white side has put up their second best unbeaten streak of the season. Their longest run without a loss in the current campaign came during the first 13 games (under Jorge Jesús).
Top matches to watch in the Primeira Liga in April 2022
*Kickoff times and dates yet to be revealed by the Portuguese League Board.
Porto vs Santa Clara: The league leaders will face Santa Clara at the Do Dragao when the International break comes to an end. Santa Clara are five games unbeaten prior to that match, which will represent a good test for Sergio Conceicao's men.
Sporting Braga vs Benfica: The Eagles could hand a decisive blow to Braga's chances to finish third when they visit the red and white team at the Estadio Municipal de Braga. The Bishops have only won once in their last four games, and this clash could be decisive for their hopes of a top-three finish.
Sporting vs Pacos de Ferreira: The defending champions will welcome ninth-placed Pacos de Ferreira at José Alvalade trying to keep up their pursuit of the league leaders. To do so, they will be facing a team that has won four out of their last five meetings, which may be a good chance to prove themselves as title contenders by beating those teams behind them.
*Keep track of all the activity in the Portuguese top-flight by following our dedicated Primeira Liga competition page.
