By Melody Gross 
Benfica hosted Porto and beat them 28-27 on Sunday, in the 18th round of the National First Division Handball Championship.
In a match that witnessed great balance, Benfica reached the end of the first half leading 12-10, but the difference was large, and the Reds scored during the last quarter of an hour. The Eagles' victory was still in doubt, but the Dragons did not complete their final attack to equalize at 28 goals.
The Reds opened the scoring, then took turns controlling the game until the 18th minute, with either Benfica or Porto leading by a maximum of one goal, or several moments from a draw.
In the 18th minute, Benfica took the lead with the first two goals (7-5), and advanced by three goals with scores of 10-7 and 11-8, and reached the end of the first 30 minutes victorious with two goals (12-10). .
In the second half, Benfica remained ahead until the 42nd minute, when Porto equalized at 16, and even led by a few minutes several times, always by a slender margin, varying with draws.
The match returned in favor of the Reds after the 48th minute, as Benfica scored the score 21-20, before being effective offensively and defensively as well, achieving an unprecedented lead of four goals in the 52nd minute with the 25th minute.
Benfica looked to be on their way to victory with some peace of mind, but FC Porto began the recovery process in the final stretch and had a shot at avoiding defeat, but without success.
This is the first classic match that Benfica has won in the 2023/24 season in the tournament, after the two defeats against Sporting and the defeat against Porto.
With this result in the last match of the day. Sporting, who won on Saturday, is more than the leader.
Steven Valencia (Benfica), Ignacio Plaza and Nicolai Christensen (Porto), all with six goals, were the top scorers in the match.
classification: 1st: Sporting, 54 points, 2nd: Porto, 49, 3rd: Benfica, 46, 4th: ABC, 42, 5th: Aguas Santas, 39, 6th: Maritimo, 38, 7th: Vitoria, 33, 8th: Belenenses, 30, 9th: FC Gaya, 28. 10th: AC Bovoa, 27. 11th: A.Avanka, 25. 12th: V.S. Setubal, 21.