Benfica suffered their first official defeat of the season in Braga (0-3) and, immediately after the end of that league match, Roger Schmidt made his mind clear. “This match is over, now our reaction will be important,” said the German coach of the eagles, in line with the statements of Alexander Bah, Benfica’s Danish right-back who, even after the end of the match against Braga, recalled that the team is still in first place in the competition, but that he and his teammates will have to prove that “men are”.
The first training session of 2023 is scheduled for today and the next match will be next Friday, at home, against Portimonense, still valid for the championship. And the goal is to give a strong response after the heavy defeat suffered in Braga.
Minus in very important
Looking at various statistics from the match against SC Braga, there are indicators that help explain Benfica’s gut punch. Schmidt said he believed the team was “disconnected”, “losing many duels” and “slow” in the last third of the opposition field. In fact, the Eagles were less aggressive, which netted Braga 55 interceptions during the game, against the 36 managed by Benfica. And Benfica also left the match with fewer offensive duels won than their opponents: 68 against 71. The eagles recovered fewer balls (81 against 88) than Minho’s team, who finished fewer and worse (10 shots, three on goal, against 16 at SC Braga, six in the frame), he made fewer assists on shots (eight, against 11 at the opposite side) and all this lower offensive capacity, combined with defensive permeability, then translated into defeat for 0-3. Benfica have not lost a match since 7 May 2022, in a 0-1 home draw against FC Porto in the league. And he concedes three goals only to Juventus; and would win 4-3.
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