Jornada 29 Review: Nacional Take Six Points From Porto

By: Greg | May 5th, 2008

6pr When the boys of Nacional are sitting around the dressing room at the end of the season to discuss what took place over the course of the thirty jornadas that comprised the 2007/08 season, they can proudly stick their chests out and say: “We handed Porto two of their three losses this year.” In the final match of the season at the Dragão, young, promising Portuguese winger (surprise!) Fábio Coentrão (on loan from Benfica) netted two and Juninho (the other, other, other Juninho) put one in during injury time to see tenth place Nacional win 3-0 and take all six points available from league kings Porto this year. Second place Sporting now move within twenty points of Porto with one match remaining. I have to do the math, but I think Porto have already clinched the title. While I crunch the numbers, here are the scores from the other contests…

Porto 0 - 3 Nacional
Académica 1 - 1 Naval
E. Amadora 0 - 0 Benfica
Belenenses 1 - 1 V.Guimarães
V.Setúbal 2 - 0 Leixões
P. Ferreira 0 - 1 Sporting
Boavista 0 - 0 Braga
Marítimo 2 - 0 Leiria

And, of course, the week’s docket of very important superlatives…

Hero of the Week — Yannick Djalo, Sporting — I originally wanted to put Fábio Coentrão here for scoring two goals against Porto at the vaunted Dragão, but then I realized that Djalo’s goal is far more important in the complexion of the season than Fábio Coentrão’s double. The aforementioned overhead / sideways tally netted by Yannick in the thirty-fifth minute effectively put Sporting in the driver’s seat for the second (and only remaining direct-to-group stages) Champions League spot. They currently lead third place V.Guimarães by two points and fourth place Benfica by three heading into the final weekend of play.

Goat of the Week — Fernando Chalana, Benfica – Yes, he’s the manager and can’t actually go out on to the pitch in boots and guards to score for his club, but what he can effect are the tactics and team attitude. He did a thoroughly poor job on both accounts. In their 0-0 draw with twelfth place Estrela da Amadora, Benfica looked flat and uninspired. Their tactics and formation played right into Amadora’s defensive alignment and they were never really capable of putting more than a few serious chances together. As a result of their apathy and poor showing, Benfica now need a miracle to leap frog both Sporting and V.Guimarães into second position’s Champions League berth.

Clean Sheets of the Week — Rafael (Nacional), Pedro Alves (E.d.Amadora), Quim (Benfica), Eduardo (V.Setúbal), Peter Jehle (Boavista), Kieszek (Braga), and Marcos (Marítimo)

With their wins this past weekend, Marítimo and V.Setúbal have secured UEFA Cup spots for the upcoming campaign. Farther up the table, Sporting, V.Guimarães, and Benfica are all still possibilities for that second “group stages” Champions League spot. On the other side of life, relegation hasn’t been fully decided yet, with Leixões enjoying a two point lead on Paços de Ferreira for that not-so-coveted final relegation spot.

Keep it real and enjoy the rest of chris and Mat’s favorite day. We’ll see you back here tomorrow for more fresh musings.