Maiara Niuez’s goal this Sunday gave Sporting CP a 1-0 victory over Benfica in the Women’s Championship round 17 match, ending the Reds’ invincibility this season.
With this result, Sporting CP, who are tied for second place with Sporting Braga with 39 points, is approaching the league leaders Benfica with 48 points.
In front of 27,221 spectators, a new attendance record in women’s football, Sporting CP bet on a form of contention, managing to nullify the attacking action of Benfica, who only reached Hanna Siebert’s goal with deep shots, taking advantage of the speed of Jessica Silva. or Chloe Lacasse, but unsuccessfully in the first part.
By the way, it was Chandra Davidson who, in the 20th minute, set the goal for Benfica’s defense, when he forced goalkeeper Rute Costa to deflect the kick for a corner with a roundhouse kick.
Thus, a zero at half-time, on the one hand, rewarded Sporting’s defensiveness, and on the other hand, exposed Benfica’s difficulties in linking the game with offensive action, keenly aware of the absence of the injured Pauleta who took on this role.
In the second half, the two-time national champions were determined to quickly resolve the game, and in the 47th minute, Andrea Norton tried her luck “from the middle of the street”, but the ball ended up in the hands of Hanna Siebert, the goalkeeper who, at 54, defended the ball when Chloe Lacasse saved the ball after a direct free kick.
This duo showed up again in the 62nd minute, when Jessica Silva headed the Canadian from the right, and the American goalkeeper saved the ball almost reaching the goal line.
However, with the team’s fully balanced forward, Benfica were surprised in the 63rd minute when Brazil’s Maiara Niuez counterattacked from the right and beat Ruta Costa with a cross from Ana Capeta’s pass, scoring a goal. his debut in Portugal.
The advance of the clock unsettled the “embodied” in such a way that in the 85th minute Chloe Lacasse with one Siebert in front could not equalize, and the same thing happened again, in the 88th minute.