If the draw at 90+4 was already good for Benfica, what can we say about the victory at 90+7? The Second Circular derby fell to the Red side on Sunday, in a game where the result was much better than the performance for the Luz sides, even though Roger Schmidt disagrees with the idea.
The three points allow Benfica to equal Sporting at the top of the Primeira Liga, both with 28 points after 11 rounds. Gonçalo Inácio’s expulsion in the 51st minute was crucial.
PHOTOS: See the best images of Benfica-Sporting
The Game: Eagle to the end
It cannot be said that it was the victory of the team that deserved it most, or the one that did most for the three points. Football happened. Purely and simply football, a sport where logic does not always prevail.
The game was much more than those three fatal minutes for the lions and crazy ones for Benfica. In Luz, Sporting were better, controlling the game, against an indecisive Benfica in the intermediate zone.
With difficulties in defining pressure zones, Sporting called Benfica to one flank – almost always the right – and then found someone behind the red midfielders to switch the game to the opposite flank, knowing Di Maria’s difficulties at the defensive level. .
There were several times when Matheus Reis appeared completely loose in his corridor, with plenty of space to drive and create danger. When it wasn’t Matheus Reis on the wing, it was Marcus Edwards, appearing in the central zone to receive and attack defenders head on, at speed.
Benfica thrived on individual strengths, but many of their players are out of shape. He also lived off the combat capacity of little João Neves, the intensity of Aursnes, Musa’s fight between Sporting’s central defenders, Rafa’s accelerations through the middle but also through the corridors. Defensively, the team did well, with António Silva and Morato in good shape in the duels.
Collectively, it was Sporting who was better, given their opponent’s difficulties. At half-time, Benfica had not made any shot on target and even lost possession of the ball (45% against 55%).
Losing and in numerical superiority, after the expulsion of Gonçalo Inácio in the 51st minute, it was expected that Benfica would fall on top of Sporting, who would push their rival close to their area in search of a comeback. Pure mistake. Control of the game continued to belong to the lions, although with less ability to make calls to leave. Despite this, Gyokeres continued to give Otamendi and António Silva a lot of work, with runs that were difficult to stop.
To understand Benfica’s difficulties in the final third, the only two opportunities created after Gonçalo Inácio’s expulsion were two shots from outside the area, by João Mário (passed very close to the post) and by Di Maria (great save by Adán) .
The football gods wanted to be fair with the intense and selfless João Neves, who scored the equalizer in the 94th minute – a result that was already flattering for Benfica – and cruel with the lions, when Tengstedt used his heel to confirm the turnaround, in the 90th minute. +7, one minute after the six added time given by referee Artur Soares Dias. The young Nordic striker took advantage of Rafa’s simulation, which was in play by four centimeters.
Roger Schmidt breathes better, goes for another break from the national teams in 1st place, equal on points with Sporting. The German coach thus dispels the ghosts of an early dismissal. Benfica fans still haven’t forgotten their elimination in the group stage after just four rounds, but, in the coming days, there will be talk of the victory they came from with iron against their rivals from the city of Lisbon.
Key moment: Expulsion of Gonçalo Inácio left the lion lame
Only five minutes into the second half had been played when Artur Soares Dias considered that Gonçalo Inácio fouled Rafa and showed yellow, the second in the match, and consequent red, in the 51st minute of the game. Sporting had to retreat, maintaining defensive solidity but having one less man in attack. And that was fatal.
The Best: The tireless Gyokeres and João Neves
The young midfielder’s goal was a fair reward for what he had done on the field, tireless in pressing and recovering balls (17 duels won, according to GoalPoint). Rafa was the only one to follow João Neves in the desire to turn the text around.
In addition to the goal scored, at 45, Gyokeres it was a huge headache for the red defenders. Even when the lions were outnumbered, he found ways to, alone, make sense of the incarnated defense.
On a ‘no’ night: João Mário and Roger Schmidt
João Mario He was one of the most challenged by Benfica fans and when he was replaced, he heard a monumental whistle. He lost the ball in Sporting’s goal, added another couple of lost balls, which show how in poor form he is.
In numerical superiority since 55, it was asked that Roger Schmidt make another reading other than placing two central defenders and getting the team to cross, knowing that Coates dominates in the air and that Sporting defended with very tall defenders like St. Juste, Diomande, Matheus Reis. Benfica broke their record for crosses in the competition this season (23 in the 88th minute) but only took advantage of the last one, as a result of the poor positioning of Sporting’s defensive line, too high for the position of St. Juste, the man who placed Rafa in play at 1-2 by… four centimeters, before Tengstedt’s deflection.
Reactions:
Schmidt says it was the perfect way to win the derby, Casper Tengsted lived “dream”
Rúben Amorim talks about one of the most painful defeats, Coates says that Gonçalo Inácio’s expulsion complicated matters
VIDEO – See the Benfica-Sporting summary
2023-11-13 08:45:00
#BenficaSporting #Analysis #football #gods #fair #João #Neves #unfair #lions
