No magic could help Di Maria secure victory for the Eagles in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs.

Two penalties converted by Di Maria give Benfica a minimal lead in the first leg of the Europa League play-offs. In the end, the odds will have to be counted in France – and Roger Schmidt’s team can be content with even a dull performance at the Estádio da Luz stadium.

Just Google the phrase “There are no easy games” and you will realize that this is an international motto in approaching football’s most sympathetic challenges. Benfica forgot the rule in the first 35 minutes of the game.

Rafa needs to reach 38 minutes to hit a dead end that ends at the corner of the crossbar and post. Stunning accuracy brings no points, and the score remained nil until the break. Zero.

Toulouse, in fact, didn’t bother Trubin either, but Luz demands more. Hence the whistles about the ugly duckling Joao Mario being replaced by Carreras. Ba and Neres entered the field, and in this Schmidt carousel, Orsnes switched from right back to left back.

However, someone else’s hand could help. The penalty missed VAR and Di Maria made it 1-0. Overall, the Eagles could have increased their lead through Bach and Arthur Cabral, but strangely Benfica were beaten in their best period. Everyone fell asleep and Desler equalized the score (75 minutes).

Schmidt didn’t risk it all and heard more whistles when he sent off Cabral to replace Marcos Leonardo. It was the winter reinforcement that suffered from a penalty scored by Di Maria in stoppage time. An important victory, albeit a small one. You really have to count the beans on both hands.

“We should have scored more goals”
“We missed several opportunities and due to our mistake we made the score 1:1. We fought until the last minute, but it was a fair victory. We should have scored more goals, but I’m happy. It wasn’t ideal because we lacked intensity,” Roger Schmidt said. The German admits that it was difficult to overtake an opponent who has “a lot of players behind the ball”.

Benfica fined €6,352
The FPF Disciplinary Council fined Benfica 6,352 euros due to the inappropriate behavior of the crowd in Guimarães (2-2). Most of the sanctions (€5,740) were related to the use of pyrotechnics: the report mentions 15 torches, 2 “flashlights” and a firecracker. The rest was an insult to Charles’s guardian.

POSITIVE
Joao Neves – representative of the working class
Almost the entire Benfica team took to the field with the pride of a man playing against the 14th team in the French league. João Neves is not there. The rotation is always the same. There is one more class. Working class.

Negative
You need to pay attention to the signs
And we’re not talking about traffic or health care here, although Benfica has already gone through healthier phases. Schmidt insists on options that Luz rightly criticizes. Whistling is never a good sign.

Two undeniable moves
Logan Costa’s hand is beyond doubt and we simply don’t understand why VAR took so long to warn the referee. Marcos Leonardo’s strike was counted immediately. Lack of disciplinary criteria.

AND
“All games are difficult”
“In Europe, all games are difficult. I think we played well and deserved to win. In the end, the main thing is triumph,” said Benfica midfielder Cocciu after the match this Thursday in Luz.

Marcos Leonardo leaves a warning
“It was an easy win and we can’t make it easy in the second leg. It was a difficult game but we never gave up and managed to win in the last minute,” said Marcos Leonardo, who was missing in the match. second penalty.