It went in all directions. The derby ended in a two-goal draw and now all that remains is to play the final round to determine the national champions, as Sporting do not qualify for the next Champions League as third place is already unattainable. Benfica go into the 34th round two points ahead of FC Porto, needing only a draw against Santa Clara to seal victory. João Neves, who was already in final compensation, took advantage of a massive confusion in the lions’ territory to establish the final result, after a game that was well contested and dominated by innings.
After moments of some tension near the stadium and already inside the fence, the two teams took to the field for the 316th derby without much news. On the Lions side, Franco Israel came forward as goalkeeper, replacing the suspended Adán, with Diomande and Inácio as flanking captain Coates. Esgaio returned to the eleven after the “test” against Bellerín, the midfield was normal when there were no impediments, and in attack Amorim bet on the more mobile trio, leaving Paulinho and Chermiti on the bench, with Trincão from a more mobile position central. On the other hand, Roger Schmidt chose the team that had been in good form on the trip to Portimão, with the natural exchange of Morato for captain Otamendi, back after a suspension. Otherwise, Aursnes continued as right defender, João Neves and Chiquinho formed the duo in midfield and Neres remained in the starting line-up, in what could have been doubt before the opening whistle.
With coach Roberto Martínez in the stands and former goalscorer and coach Manuel Fernandes being honored on the pitch – with the presence of other former leonine captains including the scrawny Hilário – the game started with Benfica going out with the ball. And that was not just a detail: during the first two minutes the red seemed to be high and Sporting seemed to be having a hard time. They were practically the only ones to succeed in a first half that was completely dominated by the home team, so that the lead to two goals at half time was only a bit short-lived. Always calm and patient (and with the ball 63% of the time), the Lions were always able to build up their attacks, until they began to discover gaps in the visiting defence, both right and left, where Nuno Santos, still becoming the sole champions for the two clubs on the field, it turned out to be a particularly inspired evening.
At 12 minutes first Pote and later Diomande left at the first warnings. Sporting won corners and rarely allowed Benfica to harass Franco Israel, then attacking or in quick transitions or in a close game, with the ball moving from flank to flank and Ugarte and Morita dominating the midfield.
Pot incredibly wasted a perfect cross from Esgaio in the 21st minute, who had failed to hit the ball in conjunction with Edwards – the Leonine supporters must have remembered Bryan Ruiz’s failure, although this time the green and white striker passed the ball. The unloved leonine winger still forced Vlachodimos into a great save (32″) and almost offered Trincão (37″) a goal, but the inevitable, given what was going on, happened two minutes later. Nuno Santos’ pass that António Silva failed to intercept, while Trincão shot with a tackle. The red goalkeeper stopped that ball, but the striker did not give up and scored the 1-0 without any problems.
Shortly after, another move with Nuno Santos in focus, running off to the left and trying to serve Pot in the area. António Silva (who will miss the last round) managed to make it 2-0 from a corner. This time, beaten by the southpaw, the ball landed on the head of Diomande, who had no problem foisting on Grimaldo and heading it into the back of the net, in what was his first goal for the Lions.
The difference was on the couch
For the second half, Roger Schmidt brought in Bah in an attempt to stop the bleeding on that flank. João Mário, always whistled, was the one to be sacrificed, as Aursnes came onto the field. And it would be the Norwegian to take the first shot on target for the League leaders, which Israel seized with great confidence (47″).
Busier and tougher, winning the distributed balls thanks to greater intensity in the individual duels, Benfica started to do what it hadn’t been able to do until then, push the Lions to their defense zone. These couldn’t leave as they had done in the first half and the game turned completely. Rúben Amorim then replaced Edwards with Paulinho and Sporting started to focus more on long balls instead of building from behind. Several times in the attack, the visitors threatened to taper off. However, the German coach was not happy. He took out Rafa and Gonçalo Ramos to launch Gonçalo Guedes and Musa. It didn’t take long for the Croat to frighten most of Alvalade, in an individual shot that ended with a cross that went close to the post (67″).
What was predicted also happened: Gonçalo Guedes crossed from the right, the ball reached the left and Grimaldo took advantage of the fact that Diomande remained on the ground to shoot the ball in the head of the Norwegian, who did not forgive and signed the 2 -1 (71″).
Amorim feared the worst and started throwing new men into the game. First Bellerín and Matheus Reis, then Essugo and Arthur – showing only the difference in options between the two teams. In the 86th minute, the isolated Paulinho lost the chance to make it 3-1 and the last minutes there were great tensions in the lion’s area. And in the fourth minute of stoppage time, the 2-2 even fell, in a moment of great confusion that João Neves took advantage of to shut down the rival’s stadium. Finally bringing justice to the marker.
SEE THE GOALS HERE
Source: DN
