With the defeat against Porto, Sporting was 15 points from first place and 10 points from second place. It is practically impossible to get to these places in the table. And with Braga's victory, third place is also very difficult.
Today it will be interesting to see Boavista vs Casa Pia, where we will see if Casa Pia manages to stay in the top places.
In Portuguese league, Porto is another club that has similar transfer strategy like Benfica.
At the moment Porto is not being able to sell very well. Although buying cheap and players appreciate value, the sale price is not high enough for them to be able to solve their financial problems.