Today, Benfica beat Celta Vigo 2-0 with two late goals to lift the Algarve trophy, adding a fourth win in four games in preparation for the 1st Portuguese Football Championship.
After a very warm and goalless first half and a nearly similar pace in the second half, the Reds turned up the pressure in the last 15 minutes and ended up winning with goals from Di Maria from the penalty spot at 90 and Mousa at 90+1.
Benfica won their fourth pre-season victory after beating Southampton (2-0), Basel (3-1) and Al-Nasr (4-1).
In view of Thursday’s victory over Al-Nasr, Roger Schmidt, taking more defensive precautions than the day before, made six changes to the “eleven” formed by Samuel Soares, Bach, Thomas Araujo, Morato, Ristic, Joao Neves, Chiquinho, Joao Mario, Orsnes, Rafa and Gonzalo Ramos.
For the same reason, the start of the match was much warmer than the previous one, although Celta de Vigo, who had also thrashed Al-Nasr 5-0 in the first game of the triangular tournament, created the first dangerous moment in the sixth minute when Strand Larsen forced Samuel Soares to defend with two shots before Benfica countered with a Ba on the piece.
Benfica had more ball than the Galician side during the first half, but with a midfield of four elements very similar in style of play, they had more trouble creating offensive imbalances, including against the more aggressive Celta in terms of defense.
With the exception of Baja’s dangerous cross that Rafa missed by milliseconds in the 16th minute and Aidoo’s Tomas Araujo after a corner kick in the 44th minute, there was little danger for either side before the break.
The incarnate coach repeated what he had done in other pre-season meetings and changed the whole team for the second half, this time selecting Vlachomos, Joao Victor, Lucas Verissimo, António Silva, Jurasek, Florentino, Kokchu, Di Maria, Neres, Tengstedt and Mousa.
However, the changes did not bring much new to the game, which for a long time continued without enthusiasm, despite the fact that in the 52nd minute goalkeeper Ivan Villar twice prevented a goal from Mousa and Kökçu.
In search of a triumph for the Algarve trophy, the national champions turned up the pressure, missing two great opportunities: Lucas Verissimo topped the crossbar from a free kick (83) and Mousa, isolated, missed goalkeeper Ruben Blanco’s defense (87).
Shortly thereafter, the video referee (VAR) called a penalty on Tengstedt converted by Di Maria (90) – he scored in the third match in a row in this return to the Luz club – and the next minute Musa, again isolated, was no longer lost.
The preparation of Roger Schmidt’s team for the Super Cup against Porto (8 or 9 August, Aveiro) will continue on Tuesday at the Reshtelo stadium in Lisbon in a friendly match against Burnley at 20:30.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.