Arouca survived a wild Taça de Portugal tie at the Jamor, beating Belenenses 4-3 after extra time. Mansilla scored twice in four minutes, first in the 87th minute and then in the 90th minute plus 1, to turn a level game into a cup escape.
The Jamor night
The match was played at the Jamor, the stadium used for the Portuguese Cup final, and it never settled into anything calm. Belenenses led 1-0 through Cesinha's 49th-minute header, then Bruninho put them ahead again in the 76th minute before Arouca dragged it back.
Vítor Severino had already set the tone before kickoff, telling A Bola that there are no divisions in the Portuguese Cup. His side still had to live that idea in real time, because the second-tier visitors kept landing punches and forced the game deep into extra time.
Mansilla's four-minute burst
Mansilla finished it with a four-minute burst that changed the tie completely. Arouca entered the match sitting fifth in the Primeira Liga with 14 points from 8 matches, so the gap on paper was clear enough, but Belenenses brought a very different kind of problem after seven wins and one draw in its first eight matches of 2026/27.
David Monteiro's long-range equaliser to make it 3-3 kept Belenenses alive until the late collapse. C. Mayulu was also involved in the match's crowded scoreline, but Mansilla's two finishes ended the night with Arouca still standing and Belenenses left wondering how close they came.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
