Open Championship: Sporting defeats Benfica in Alcochete and reopens the competition for the BPI League title – Women's Football

The BPI League is in full swing. On Sunday, Sporting won the derby over Benfica in the 19th round of the tournament. After Marie Aledo threw the ball towards Seibert's goal post and the Leonine goalkeeper blocked a back-heeled shot from Kika Nazareth, the Lionesses were more effective and opened the scoring in the 28th minute through striker Raffino, then from a torn pass from Olivia Smith. Just before the end of the first half, Joana Martinez increased the Lionesses' lead in a move that started with a poor pass from Les Araujo. The second half started with a bang: Benfica's Brazilian midfielder had a goal ruled out for offside, and three minutes later, Teresa Oliveira pointed to the 11-metre mark for a foul by Anna Borg on Nicole. In the 64th minute, Jessica Silva saw a stunning goal also disallowed by the refereeing team. Against the run of play, Mariana Cabral's side reached the third goal of the match with a brilliant first-time shot from Olivia Smith, who received a long pass from Andrea Norheim with her chest. In the final half of the match, Kika Nazareth hit the post and the Lionesses came close to extending the lead through Rafino. With this result, Sporting (45 points) moved closer to the lead, two points ahead of Benfica, which is ranked 47th.