The Portuguese Cup party takes place in Campo da Mata. In the time trial mode, Caldas, a League 3 club, managed to set up a new playing field to receive leader Benfica. In a match between undefeated clubs and with the obligation to find a winner, Eagles or Pelicans will score the first loss of the season.
The reds make their debut in the competition, but the same cannot be said for the Caldas da Rainha shield. The Caldenses surprised and eliminated, in the second round, SC Covilhã, from the II League, by three clean sheets and, in recent editions, they turned their stadium into a stage present in true stories of charm.
Regarding the match with Paris Saint-Germain, scoring for the Champions League, Roger Schmidt makes five changes. Goalkeeper Helton Leite, defenders Gilberto and Brooks, midfielder Draxler and striker Rodrigo Pinho jumped into the eleventh.
The captain of the Caldas team, Thomas Militão, recovered the ball in midfield and was not afraid to shoot from distance and opened the hostilities of opportunities in the game. With each touch of the ball or cut by the local team, the stands launched a bruaá to encourage their players.
In an attempt to surprise the opposing defense, Benfica resorted, in the first few minutes, to long balls to unblock the attacks. Even so, the opportunities of the eagles were not multiplied by the compact line of the pelicans, determined to delay the possible scoring chances of the reds.
In the first quarter of an hour of play, Caldas did not deviate from the game plan. With the sectors together, but quite advanced on the field, the Alvinegros managed to disrupt the organized attack of the Lisbonists and, in the counterattack, the Caldenses created danger in Helton Leite’s goal.
Eleven from Caldas: Wilson Soares, André Sousa, Thomas Militão, Yordi Marcelo, Henrique Henriques, Nuno Januário, André Perre, Leandro Borges, João Rodrigues, João Silva and Miguel Rebelo
Benfica’s eleven: Helton Leyte; Gilberto, António Silva, Brooks and Grimaldo; Aursnes and Florentino, Draxler, Enzo Fernández, João Mário; Rodrigo Pinho
Substitutes from Caldas: Luís Paulo, Diogo Clemente, Luís Farinha, Rafael Roque, Marcelo Marquês, Gonçalo Barreiras, Francisco Miranda, Dagmar Pinto and André Simões
Benfica Substitutes: Vlachodimos, Diogo Gonçalves, Chiquinho, Mihailo Ristic, Gil Dias, Musa, André Almeida, João Victor and Paulo Bernardo
Source: TSF
