Belenenses kept their perfect start intact with a 1:0 victory over second-placed Atlético in the fifth round of League 3 on Sunday. Bruninho's second-half strike proved enough to separate the league leaders from their closest challengers at the Estádio Nacional.
The opening exchanges were cagey, with Belenenses managing 57 per cent possession but not creating clear-cut opportunities. Morgado picked up a yellow card in the eleventh minute after a late challenge, and Atlético's first real chance came from a corner in the twenty-third minute that found no one at the back post.
And here's the thing about these tight games — they're decided by moments, not sustained pressure. Konaté came on for Atlético in the forty-sixth minute, but it was Belenenses who broke the deadlock when Bruninho finished off a counter-attack in the eightieth minute. Ferreira was booked five minutes later for a tactical foul.
Half-time substitution brought Moninhas for Belenenses in the fifty-seventh minute, while both sides made double changes around the sixty-third minute as the game settled into a rhythm. Bandarra and Chamito were introduced together, followed by Suker for Atlético in the seventy-third minute. By then, the match had become a battle for midfield supremacy rather than a contest of attacking fluency.
Atlético's Ferreira was replaced by Horta Leitao in the seventy-eighth minute, and the visitors pushed hard for an equaliser. They earned four corners to Belenenses' two, but their shots off target outnumbered their efforts on goal — four against three — and the visitors simply couldn't find the finishing touch.
The statistics tell a story of possession without penetration. Belenenses registered 121 attacks compared to Atlético's 95, but only three shots hit the target against the visitors' two. The goal difference, meanwhile, showed why this match mattered: Belenenses sat on 15 points from five wins, while Atlético had taken ten points from three victories, one draw and one defeat.
Afonso's late booking in the ninety-second minute capped an eventful evening, and both managers made fresh additions in the closing stages. Durand and Lourenco were brought on for Atlético in the eighty-ninth minute, but the result was already decided — Belenenses extended their lead at the top by two points and kept their unbeaten run alive.