With a two-goal lead at half-time and many other goals, Benfica seemed to have gone to Portimão to spend a relaxing autumn Sunday, such was the superiority they had on the always well-kept lawn of the Algarve. But so far this League has shown that resting in the shade of the banana tree is not a good idea, even if the opponent seems vulnerable. And within a handful of minutes the draw was about to happen, with Trubin assuming himself as the unlikely hero – the champion there eventually forgot the European bitterness and held on for the three points after Neres completed a transition to seal 3-1. and guaranteeing a fifth consecutive win in the competition.
Roger Schmidt eventually caused a surprise in Portimão. The touched Di María did not even go to the bench and is in doubt for the classic with FC Porto.
On the Algarve side, Paulo Sérgio made three changes from the eleven that started the victory in Guimarães and in the system, opting for a plan with three central defenders. However, if the Portimonense coach’s goal was to delay the opponent’s goal for as long as possible, it didn’t work: after just five minutes, Kökçü played on the right where fullback Bah appeared, in his 50th eagle play on the chest. a powerful and well-placed shot that only stopped in the back of the goal, to the delight of the many red fans present. And immediately afterwards it did not get worse because Neres, isolated, could not overcome the spot of goalkeeper Vinícius.
Benfica let the opponent press high and completely dominate, so that the 0-2 was soon in sight: Kökçü unmarked unmarked Neres on the left and he crossed at the right moment for Musa to push the ball into the empty goal, once Vinícius had tried to reduce the lead over his compatriot (17″). And of course the pace of the Reds, with a clear advantage so early in the match, dropped slightly, allowing Portimonense, a limited team, to take the lead who played the same game. Yet Rafa missed two good opportunities to put an end to the doubts and for Paulo Sérgio that was enough: at the age of 40 he made the first substitution, exchanging Paulo Estrela for Rildo, a man for the center of attack.
From almost nothing, the punishment
In the second half the two coaches changed, with the emphasis on Schmidt who made three changes: he removed Bah (complainant in the first half), Kökçü and Musa and introduced Jurásek (passes Aursnes to the right) João Neves and Arthur Cabral. On the other side, Guga surrendered Igor Formiga.
Hélio Varela (48″) gave the first sign that he wanted to prove himself with a shot over the top, showing that Portimonense, despite the “bad” in the first half, had not yet thrown in the towel. Benfica remained failed in the final third and ultimately had to pay the price for the somewhat careless way in which he attacked: almost out of nowhere Jasper launched Hélio Varela who ran like a rocket halfway up the field and shot across, reducing the score to 1-2 ( 56). “). And it was only worse for the Reds as Rildo could not take a penalty (his fourth in three games), punishing Morato’s hand, allowing Trubin (60”) to save, who relieved himself of the nerves he had had until then shown.
The shock finally woke up the champion. A mistake by Carlinhos gave Rafa the time and space to run into the opponent’s area, allowing Neres to shoot through Vinícius’ legs at the right moment and restore some calm to the result (66″). Portimonense could not respond to two setbacks turned into an argument and Benfica returned home with a victory that looked easy but wasn’t. Now the classic follows, next Friday.
Source: DN
