It could already be the title game. Or almost. It is true that we are still in the 15th of 22 rounds of the first phase of the Placard Handball Championship, but, with Sporting counting all the games as victories, and with FC Porto and Benfica having two draws and one defeat – the Reds with one game less, precisely against the Green and Whites, playing on the 19th -, if the Lions win tonight at the Dragão Arena they will give a big blow to the accounts of the also called Handball 1. They will have three more points than the blue and whites and four more than Benfica, and this number will rise to six, for both rivals, in the event of a new victory at Luz. Assuming that Ricardo Costa’s men do not give in anywhere else, in this scenario they would enter the second phase, to which the clubs carry 50% of the points, being able to lose one game and draw another. Furthermore, in the event of equality at the end, whoever won the first round is champion, which in this case would not escape the lions.
Let’s go in parts and, for now, tonight’s challenge. “It’s a very important game, because we’ve already had two less positive results. Especially at home, it’s important to give a good response. It’s also important because this first phase has weight in the final part of the season”, admitted Rui Silva, one of FC Porto’s longest-serving athletes, in his 11th consecutive season.
“It’s an attractive game and we have every confidence that we will go there to win”, said Diogo Branquinho, ex-FC Porto winger. “We are going there to win with our weapons and to cement the main objective of the season, which is to be champions and, next year, we continue in the Champions League”, concluded the left winger.
“We have had difficulty winning against Sporting, but after the response we gave in Alvalade, despite the defeat, I fully believe we can win,” said Rui Silva. The Dragons’ last triumph over Sporting was on April 27, 2024 (37-35) and, in the following nine matches, the Lisbon team won eight and drew one.
