Failure after failure – Mourinho faces another title heartbreak in Portugal

Porto will take advantage of an easy opportunity tonight against bottom-of-the-table Aves and extend their lead over Benfica to 10 points, effectively ending Jose Mourinho’s team’s title hopes. The Portuguese Primeira Liga is such that a 10-point gap is almost impossible to close in just half a season.

Even if Benfica had won in Braga last night instead of drawing 2-2, their title chances would have remained slim. With this draw, Benfica has only confirmed that it’s better to shift focus to the race for second place and direct qualification for the Champions League—or to concentrate on other competitions, such as the League Cup, where they will play a semi-final match in 10 days against tonight’s opponent, but this time at home.

Braga’s Estadio Municipal, however, is no easy place to erase blemishes, even though the hosts have underperformed this season with some disappointing results. Braga demonstrated their quality with a strong first half and resilience in the second. They started the game much better, with Ukrainian goalkeeper Trubin making crucial saves, and their best player, Ricardo Orta, had a goal disallowed for a prior foul.

Out of nowhere, Benfica took the lead after half an hour. Argentine veteran Nicolas Otamendi once again proved dangerous on set pieces, converting Sudakov’s cross into the net.

Yet football justice was served before halftime. Uruguayan Salasar equalized from a penalty won by Samuel Dal, and Braga’s Pau Vitor turned the score around in first-half stoppage time after a brilliant run from Greek player Rios and a series of skillful dribbles.

While Braga dominated the first half, Benfica controlled the second. Minutes into the restart, Norwegian midfielder Fredrik Aursnes scored a stunning long-range strike to equalize and then took the initiative. Big chances went begging for center-back Araujo and Aursnes, and Pavlidis missed in stoppage time. Braga managed to hold on and preserve a point, rewarding their stronger first-half performance.