Sporting 0-0 Benfica: Honours Even In Lisbon Stalemate

Sporting and Benfica shared the spoils in a scrappy Lisbon derby where chances and quality play were at a premium.

Javier Saviola rattled the crossbar for the Eagles while Miguel Veloso went closest for the hosts with a long range effort which was well saved by Quim who made an acrobatic stop.

In the first Lisbon derby for both coaches, Sporting's Carlos Carvalhal and Benfica's Jorge Jesus, they put their sides out to practice caution rather than attacking intent.

The opening quarter of an hour was cagey with the Lions having the better of possession without ever threatening.

It was their close neighbours though who mustered the first half-chance of the game through Oscar Cardozo who managed to shrug off his marker and fire a first time shot from 20 yards out which rolled wide of the right hand post.

Sporting should have converted at least one of the two gilt-edged chances which fell their way within the space of a minute.

Brazilian defender, Anderson Polga, beat the offside trap to find himself unmarked on the edge of the six yard box but blazed his effort well over the bar.

Barely a minute later star forward Liedson was clean through on goal inside the penalty area and rasped a shot which was palmed away by Quim.

Neither of the two sides took advantage of their set piece opportunities in the first half with Benfica's Pablo Aimar guilty of wasting several free-kicks from promising positions.

The Eagles had a feeble attempt at goal through Ramires in the 33rd minute when he cut into the box after stealing possession only to fire weakly at Patricio with a poor attempt.

Sporting had half-hearted appeals for a penalty waved away just before the break when Liedson appeared to be hauled to ground by David Luiz.

Seeking to go clear at the top of the Liga, Benfica came out the more positive for the second 45 and created the better opportunities.

Cutting in from the left hand flank, David Luiz showed fine skill to beat several green and white shirts to create some space for himself and fire a blazing drive which whistled closely over the bar.

Starman Javier Saviola had a quiet first half when he dropped deep to get more of the ball but provided one of the few quality moments of the match in the second 45.

The Argentinian showed sublime skill in the 56th minute when he executed a first time volley from 30 metres out which rattled off the crossbar. However, he'd crept into an offside position rendering his wonderful effort meaningless.

Moments after Saviola's magic the hosts created their best chance of the evening via a long range effort from Miguel Veloso.

Picking the ball up from 25 metres out the midfielder pulled the trigger with a powerful drive which appeared destined for the top corner only to witness a last ditch fingertip save from Quim who managed to push his effort by the post.

Matias Fernandez and Javi Garcia clashed heads on the hour mark leaving the Benfica man forced to wear a head bandage for the remainder of the contest. He left the field with only moments remaining with blood streaming from his temple.

With a quarter remaining David Luiz was involved once again to haul down Simon Vukcevic just outside the penalty area as the Montenegrin was bursting through on goal to give away a free-kick in a promising position.

As with so many of the set pieces from both sides, the chance was wasted as Veloso blasted his shot straight into the compact Benfica wall.

Brazilian Ramires, who looked lively when Benfica went on the break, had a tap in from five yards out with seven minutes remaining to steal the win for the Reds but he clipped his effort over the bar having ghosted into an offside position.

The match petered out into a stalemate after never looking like delivering the classic so many expected.