Benfica 2-2 Porto: Barreiro´s late leveller sees Classico spoils shared

Leandro Barreiro came off the bench to salvage a point for Benfica as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with rivals Porto in Sunday’s feisty Classico.

Porto had looked to be going six points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga after first-half strikes from Victor Froholdt and Oskar Pietuszewski put them in control of the match.

However, after Andreas Schjelderup had hauled Jose Mourinho’s side level, Barreiro volleyed past Diogo Costa in the 88th minute to seal a share of the spoils at Estadio da Luz.

Froholdt put Porto ahead in the 10th minute when he was slipped in behind the Benfica defence, but after seeing his initial shot saved, he was on hand to tuck home the rebound.

And it got even better for the visitors five minutes before the break after Gabri Veiga sent Pietuszewski on his way, with the Pole twisting and turning Nicolas Otamendi inside out before rifling a fierce left-footed strike past Anatoliy Trubin.

Benfica improved in the second half and saw their persistence rewarded when substitute Dodi Lukebakio’s effort hit the base of the left post, but the ball broke back kindly to Schjelderup, who finished into the roof of the net with 21 minutes remaining.

The comeback was completed two minutes from time through Barreiro, who connected sweetly with Franjo Ivanovic’s teasing cross to pick out the bottom-left corner.

Empate no Clássico.#SLBFCP | #LigaPortugalBetclic pic.twitter.com/4eDnX83mlm

— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) March 8, 2026

Data Debrief: Benfica fight back to keep unbeaten run rolling

Benfica look consigned to a rare defeat in the top flight, but as they have previously shown in the Champions League this season, they showcased their powers of recovery against their biggest rivals here.

Indeed, Benfica are now unbeaten across their last 40 Primeira Liga matches, with this being only the fifth time on Opta’s record (since 1959-60) that a team has managed 40+ top-flight matches without losing after Porto (53 in 1996, 53 in 2013, 55 in 2012 and 58 in 2022) and Benfica themselves (57 in 1978).

But Mourinho, who saw red late in the game, still could not get one over his former side. He has now failed to beat Porto in each of his last three matches, though he could have no complaints about his team taking just a point from this encounter.

Benfica finished the game with an expected goals (xG) total of just 1.3 from their 20 shots compared to Porto’s 2.14 from their 14 attempts.