Marked for Patrick Sequeira
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
A defender's afternoon for David Sousa
Defensive actions: 44. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match7 Nov 2026
10 matches without a win for Casa Pia
The run now stands at 10, and the questions being asked around Casa Pia are no longer polite ones.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Abdu Conté in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 20. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Nothing got past Khaly
19 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match31 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Casa Pia
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Casa Pia are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad2 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Ninety minutes of Tiago Morais at his very best
Marked 8.79. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Casa Pia.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kélian Nsona is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad2 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yoël van den Ban, and the manager let it.
Market2 Nov 2026
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Casa Pia, another week without a signature from Patrick Sequeira.
Match31 Oct 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match3 Oct 2026
5 matches without a win for Casa Pia
The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Casa Pia are no longer polite ones.
Squad5 Oct 2026
He will be fined, he will apologise, and he will play on Saturday. The order of those three tells you everything about what a football club actually values.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Patrick Sequeira was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Ivan Mandić is 23, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Match3 Oct 2026
David Sousa among the goals in a wild afternoon
6 goals in one match, David Sousa on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Casa Pia and Benfica.
Match3 Oct 2026
Beaten 2‑4, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad5 Oct 2026
A move Brayan Nzita would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Brayan Nzita is living that version at Casa Pia, and it tends to show in the first month.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
A performance of 8.80 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 24. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Match26 Sep 2026
No end in sight to Casa Pia's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Casa Pia has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Abdu Conté in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad28 Sep 2026
A move Ardian Bajrami would have made for nothing
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ardian Bajrami is living that version at Casa Pia, and it tends to show in the first month.
Squad28 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Patrick Sequeira, and the manager let it.
Match26 Sep 2026
Sporting CP left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Bruno Tavares is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market28 Sep 2026
He is 20, and the scouting reports agree on the only line that matters: the ceiling. Signings like this are lottery tickets written by professionals.
Market28 Sep 2026
Igor joins Casa Pia to strengthen the squad
Nobody sells a season ticket on a signing like this. Every manager who has been through a bad October wants one anyway, and Casa Pia have gone and got theirs early.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad21 Sep 2026
Abdu Conté was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kélian Nsona is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad21 Sep 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Yoël van den Ban, and the manager let it.
Squad21 Sep 2026
A defender's mistake gets tidied up by somebody else; a goalkeeper's ends up in the net. He knew before the ball crossed the line, and so did everybody in the ground.
Match19 Sep 2026
It needed Kélian Nsona to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Rio Ave, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.54, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match12 Sep 2026
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Yoël van den Ban was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Abdu Conté gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Kaíque Rocha is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad14 Sep 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Patrick Sequeira's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
The terraces14 Sep 2026
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Player ratings14 Sep 2026
Cassiano could have had three
9 attempts, none of them in. He got into the right places all afternoon, which is the hard part, and did the easy part badly — and that is the version of a bad day a manager can live with.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
The Casa Pia board want somebody sold
The instruction has come from upstairs rather than from the dugout, which is the version of this conversation no manager enjoys. Somebody in that squad is now available whether the man who picks the team thinks so or not.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Cassiano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Cassiano
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match5 Sep 2026
Vizela left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Bruno Tavares falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Market7 Sep 2026
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Squad7 Sep 2026
One weekend, judged against everybody else's. Korede Osundina has come out on top of it, and for most footballers a weekly award is the only silverware a career ever produces.
Player ratings7 Sep 2026
Cassiano could not find anything
5.66. Every footballer has these and most of them happen away from a full ground; his did not, and he will be aware of that all week.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad24 Aug 2026
Abdu Conté was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The terraces24 Aug 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad24 Aug 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Defensive actions: 20, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
A defender's afternoon for Khaly
Defensive actions: 19. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
17 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Lynneeker falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad24 Aug 2026
André Geraldes dropped after a run of poor form
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match15 Aug 2026
0‑3 to Porto, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Supporters turn on the $3.2M sale of Jérémy Livolant
He is going to Porto, the club has $3.2M it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Market17 Aug 2026
Porto pay $3.2M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Abdu Conté in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Boardroom17 Aug 2026
5 academy players handed senior numbers at Casa Pia
The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.
Squad17 Aug 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to David Sousa, and the manager let it.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rodrigo Pereira has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Rafael Borges has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market17 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Francisco Goncalves has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market10 Aug 2026
Casa Pia say no — this time
The offer from Famalicao for Ivan Mandić was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” David Sousa commits to Casa Pia for another 3 years.
Squad10 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Casa Pia this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Market10 Aug 2026
Porto are about to pick up the phone
A conversation is coming this week. Casa Pia will put a number on him, and from there it stops being football and becomes arithmetic.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Words at Casa Pia training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. David Sousa is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market10 Aug 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.