Handsome position is not easy

Chapter 131 The end of the season ([-])

Porto's three-pointer is indeed extremely important, but fans are also paying attention to Benfica, the direct competitor in this round of the league. The Red Eagles are facing Athletic Braga at the Stadium of Light. In the face, Braga scored first in the first half, and the referee missed an obvious pull foul in the Benfica penalty area.

If it hadn't been for a controversial penalty kick in the final stage of the game, Benfica would probably have been defeated by Athletic Braga at home, but the score of 1:1 was enough for Porto fans to celebrate. The points gap with Benfica was reduced to two points.

The Red Eagles are still ranked No.55 in the league with 3 points, followed by Porto with 53 points. There are still five games before the end of the season. It is not difficult to catch up with these two points. In the next round of the league, both teams will play away games In the battle, Porto needs to face Farence, who is entangled with Ihuaka at the bottom of the standings, and Benfica needs to go to the Azores to challenge Santa Clara.

The two teams were once again put on an absolute confrontation because they were vying for the No.3 European seat in the league. Villariño and Da Costa started a new round of public opinion war, but Benfica failed to support the president. , Santa Clara and the Red Eagles scored a goalless draw, and the score of 0:0 inspired the Nerazzurri.

Porto beat Farence 3-0 in one go. Postiga, Deco and Young each scored a goal. After winning this round of the league, Porto and Benfica's league points have been tied, but due to the record between the two sides, Porto Dominant, Mourinho's team successfully rose to No.3, the Blue and Whites also recovered their vitality with two consecutive victories, and the fans celebrated that the home team took the lead on the way to the European war.

The next schedule is very favorable for Porto. They need to face Guimarães and Santa Clara at home, and play Braga and Ferreira away. These four teams are all ranked in the middle and lower reaches of the Portuguese League. , There is neither hope of impacting the European theater, nor the need to fight for relegation. Lacking a direct conflict of interest, the possibility of these opponents becoming obstacles is very small.

Benfica's situation is just the opposite. Their two home opponents are Boavista and Ferreira. The black and white checkered army is currently ranked second in the league. war.The two away opponents are Sporting Lisbon and Maritimo, not to mention what efforts the Green Lions will make to keep the league leader, just the Lisbon derby is enough for Benfica to drink a pot.

At the critical moment of grabbing points, Baia and McCarthy, who suffered some minor injuries but recovered quickly, stood up. Porto, who had eliminated many players, boosted their morale. In the home game against Guimaraes, McCarthy scored a goal with a head kick For the second time, Deco scored the icing on the cake, Baier saved the opponent's three singles, and Porto killed the opponent with a clean 3:0.

In the away game against Athletic Braga, Young opened the scoring with a world wave long shot from outside the penalty area. Alenichev assisted Deco to score two consecutive goals. Ricardo Carvalho scored a corner kick at the last moment. Once again made a contribution, Taishan succeeded in the header bombing, and Porto scored three points in the away game 4:0 Braga.

Counting the previous games against Gi Vicente and Farence, Porto has won four league victories in a row, and the statistics are also very gorgeous. The Blue and Whites scored a total of twelve goals. Only one goal was conceded under the guard, and fans with banners began to gather outside the Asantas Stadium, singing Porto's cheer songs every day to cheer for the team.

Benfica defeated the disappointing Ferreira, but drew 1:1 with Sporting Lisbon in the same city derby. Now the Red Eagles are two points behind Porto. Although there are two rounds left in the league, it is still unknown who will win the game, but the mood is beginning to gradually The depressed Benfica has already lost a bit in terms of momentum, and Porto, which has the right time, place and people, will not let the opportunity in front of it slip away.

In the penultimate round of the Portuguese League, Porto needs to face Santa Clara at home, and Benfica needs to fight with Boavista at the Stadium of Light. Because the two teams are playing at the same time, the head coach must not only pay attention to the situation on the field , The club also sent a special person to convey the information of another stadium.

Surprisingly, Santa Clara, who came to the Asantas Stadium, seemed to have had chicken blood. He led 2:1 in the first half. During the intermission, Mourinho directly opened the door of the locker room Closed, he didn't intend to expose his players to any influence from another game, and the Porto boss looked at his lads and made his shortest speech since taking the position:
"Calm down, you are playing very well. It is not terrible to be behind. The tens of thousands of spectators at the Asantas Stadium will instill strength in you. Just keep playing like this, and we will definitely win Santa Clara!"

In the second half, amid the wild cheers of the home audience, Postiga scored two goals in almost the same position. Although the desperate Santa Clara equalized the score again, Deco and Young quickly used consecutive short passes from the frontcourt The cooperation tore through their defense, and McCarthy scored another goal.

When the game lasted more than 70 minutes, Santa Clara's left central defender handballed in the penalty area. The referee gave a penalty kick. The teammates gave up the opportunity to Postiga, who had already scored twice. The young Portuguese striker also withstood the pressure Scored the penalty kick and successfully killed the suspense of the game with a hat-trick.

Porto kept the 5:3 score to the end, and the three points were firmly in the bag. At the same time, there was also a good news from Lisbon. Benfica and Boavista drew 2:2. .3 on the road completely behind, even if Porto loses the last round, because of the disadvantage of the relationship between victory and defeat, Benfica will not be able to stand up again.

Porto's qualification to participate in the UEFA Cup next season has been completely stabilized, but the fans see a better possibility. Boavista, currently ranked second, is only two points more than Porto, which means that if they Failed to win the last round, Porto will be able to get the runner-up of the Portuguese Liga with three more points and qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season.

The Nerazzurri played another triumphant away game against Ferreira, and all eyes were on the home court - the Bessa Stadium against Setubal's Boavista, but Mourinho's home team The team failed to fulfill his wish, and Setubal lost. Although there are some small regrets, Porto has also completed its goal for this season.

Mourinho, who received a mess from Octavio, successfully dragged Porto out of the quagmire. Although he failed to qualify from the second stage of the Champions League group stage, he also retained his qualification for the European war next season.

On the day the league announced the end of the league, the Portuguese Football Association also officially informed the country of a news that had long been a secret among the media. In the 2002/03 season, the Portuguese First Division began to be renamed the Portuguese Super League. Nineteen teams will compete in the "Primeira Liga "The championship title, the original second division league was upgraded to first division, and the regional league was upgraded to second division, and it was divided into three divisions: North, Central and South.

(End of this chapter)