Sporting and Benfica battle to the end for Champions League: run-in | OneFootball

With only two matchdays left to play, Benfica and Sporting remain neck and neck in the battle for second place in the Liga Portugal Betclic, both on 76 points, in a race that grants access to the 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League.

The Eagles slipped up in the last round, drawing 2-2 away to Famalicão after having held a two-goal lead. The Lions, meanwhile, responded emphatically, thrashing Vitória de Guimarães 5-1, bringing an end to a negative run of five games without a win.

Despite being level on points, Benfica have the edge due to the head-to-head record, after a draw in the first meeting and a 2-1 win at Alvalade, with Rafa Silva scoring the decisive goal, which means they depend only on themselves to hold on to second place. The team managed by José Mourinho needs to beat Braga and Estoril to secure that objective.

Rui Borges’ side, meanwhile, will have to pick up more points than their rival in the final matchdays, in which they face Rio Ave and Gil Vicente, if they want to avoid dropping to third place, which only grants access to the Europa League.

The green-and-white club will return to action next weekend, on May 9/10, against Rio Ave. The match, part of matchday 33 of the Portuguese league, against the side managed by Sotiris Sylaidopoulos, will be played in Vila do Conde, with the exact date and kick-off time still to be confirmed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.