Di Maria shines after his return 13 years later as Benfica wins second pre-season test

Benfica won their second pre-season Test this Sunday, in Basel, in a game in which the returning Di María was in top form, scoring a goal to help in a 3-1 victory.

In front of thousands of Benfica fans at the St. Jakob-Park stadium in Basel, Benfica returned, as they did in the week’s game against Southampton (2-0), with two halves with different teams and less effective first to the second.

Di Maria, who returned to the club 13 seasons later, became the “star” of the day when the world champion played for Argentina and scored all three of Benfica’s goals.

Manager Roger Schmidt started the game with a score of 11, which would be very close to what could be a top choice, although he had Morato in the center of defense – with great play – along with António Silva and as captain Otamendi recovers from injury.

In the first 45 minutes, Vlachomomus was chosen, and the defense was formed by Jurasek, who also made debuts, António Silva, Morato and Bach, in the center of Florentino and Kokcu, as well as Joao Mario, Di Maria, Rafa and Gonzalo Ramos.

With a rolling block, Benfica again tried to have the same numbers as last season, with initial pressure on the man with the ball and quick and vertical exchanges from the moment he attacked.

After Kekchu’s first attempts from a free-kick or shots from Di Maria and Yurasek, the score “opened” in the 24th minute, and the Argentine appeared in a small area, reflecting a Bach cross from the right side.

Shortly thereafter, in the 29th minute, the Argentine waited in the penalty area to cross for Rafe, while the Portuguese again crossed from the right, and this time Gonzalo Ramos scored, also bypassing in the area close to the goalkeeper.

Before the break, Di Maria opened up to serve Jurasek on the left flank and the Czech, who also left a very good performance in this opening without dropping the ball to the ground, thundered 3-0 in the 41st minute.

In the second half, Schmidt left only goalkeeper Vlachimos on the field, who played his first pre-season game since Samuel Soares was selected against Southampton.

Joao Victor, again tested on the right flank, Lucas Verissimo, Tomas Araujo, Ristic, Joao Neves, Chiquinho, Orsnes, David Neres, Andreas Schelderup and Tengstedt were options for the second 45 minutes.

In this phase, David Neres (56 minutes), Schjelderup (60), much weaker and one of the best in this period, and Tengstedt (76) were close to scoring, but Basel closed the gap with a low shot. from the edge of the district, Onyegbule, 81 years old.

Now comes the Algarve Trophy participation, with games against the Saudis Al-Nasr, Luis Castro and Cristiano Ronaldo and the Spaniards Celta de Vigo, on 20 and 21 July respectively, before moving on to a new warm-up match in the Netherlands against Dutch champions Feyenoord July 30th.

Benfica’s first official match will be the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira against rivals Porto, winners of the Portuguese Cup, a match scheduled for 8 or 9 August.