The derby ended in a draw, but Benfica won.

There was no bluff here. The cards are on the table: the opponent is looking for a title, another with millions of euros of reasons to avoid the party and still dreams of the Champions League. And the first part of “Sporting” – who was ready for “allin”.

Someone once wrote that there are people who run like predators, and others like prey. And the lions started by taking on the first role. Only Pote lacked killer instinct at 21 minutes from close range after Esgayo’s perfect cross from the right. Due to the similarity of the shot, the ghost of Brian Ruiz hovered over Alvalade in one goal. And that was the only thing that scared Ruben Amorim’s team in the first half – Benfica, nothing. And Trincao translated it into numbers: a cross by Nuno Santos, a miss by António Silva and Trincao in the second, scoring the first goal of the game.

It was 39 minutes on the clock, and five minutes later there was a second blow. Corner to Nuno Santos and Diomanda to score – he could – in the heights to Grimaldo for 2-0.

During the break there was a party, only at Sporting. But hurting doesn’t mean killing. Roger Schmidt took advantage of the rest, came on the bench to get Bach, moved Orsnes, and Orsnes changed the game. In the 57th minute, he missed a perfect cross by Grimaldo, but soon corrected the route in the 71st minute with a perfect header. And at that moment, the Sporting players were already running like prey. Benfica were on top and Mousa was close to becoming a hero.

Well, Paulinho didn’t finish the game in the 86th minute either, and he’s going to have boyish dream nightmares. Free kick, confusion in the penalty area and Joao Neves moves Benfica from 18 to a likely 38. There was no champagne, but to the point.

Collisions in several places, and ASAE stops selling tickets at a price of 350 euros.
Before the game, the derby was overshadowed by several confrontations. Benfica and Sporting fans were involved in a fight outside the José Alvalade stadium, which was only interrupted by the police, who made no arrests – one person was identified for possession of pyrotechnics, and a second supporter from the Benfica support group was arrested for using pyrotechnics.

In the area of ​​the Campo Grande trailer, a group of Sporting fans pelted the police with glasses and a table. The footage shows that the agents were forced to retreat, despite the presence of shields and shotguns. Another video that CMTV had access to shows an exchange of aggression between fans at the front door to one of the stands.

The ASAE, on the other hand, arrested three people for the crime of ticket speculation. The nominal value was between 20 and 25 euros, but they were sold at prices ranging from 100 to 350 euros. Sporting emphasized in a statement that this is “not counting ticket sales to non-members”. At the direction of the PSP, Benfica fans “outside the area designated for them were sent to the side stand.”

SP. BRAGA RETURNS TO THE CHAMPIONS
With a draw this Sunday, Sporting can no longer take the 3rd place occupied by Sp. Braga. The Arsenal players have completed their task of finishing on the podium in the league, having their passport stamped into next season’s Champions League qualifying rounds. Minho’s last appearance in a UEFA Main Event was in 2012/13.