Rui Costa demands an answer from Benfica in a classic match

The Benfica president was unhappy with the performance in the first half of the Alvalade game, in which the Lions dominated and could even have scored more than the two goals scored. General passivity, difficulties with ball circulation and attacking ineffectiveness left Rui Costa unhappy, although he praised the second-half response.

However, the refereeing panel was also criticized by the Benfica leader, who complained that Di Maria had a goal disallowed due to Tengstedt’s positional offside, in which the striker blocked goalkeeper Franco Israel’s view. “You say. Wasn’t that the goal?” he said, walking quickly towards the bus.

However, Benfica’s idea is to forget about the derby result for now, as there is still a return leg (due to take place between 2 and 4 April in Luz) to make up for the draw deficit.

The Eagles’ attention now turns to the classic match against Porto. Winning a second league title is the priority and a home win against rivals could be a major milestone in what remains to be done in what appears to be a close call against Sporting. The Eagles currently lead with two points more, but the Lions have one game less (the visit to Famalican has been postponed).

Moreover, a victory over Porto would immediately take the Dragons out of title contention – they were 12 points behind the leaders – and would allow the club to unite again, saving fans unhappy with the defeat to Sporting. It is known for sure that only victory in the classics interests both teams, so an exciting game at a high level is expected.

AND
“AGAINST ALL”
“What can we say about yesterday? What happened was visible to everyone. We will continue to work to achieve our goals. One against all,” wrote Argentine striker Di Maria this Friday about the fact that referee Fabio Verissimo disallowed the goal due to Tengstedt’s positional offside.

APAF files a complaint
The Portuguese Association of Football Referees will file a complaint against Di Maria for the Instagram post (see material on the left).

PREVIEW
The Benfica coach will preview the match against Porto this Saturday (13:00) at the Seixal training center. There was some doubt about holding the preview because Roger Schmidt had already pulled out of some conferences.

Arthur Cabral shows signs of dissatisfaction
Brazilian striker Arthur Cabral no longer hides his dissatisfaction with Benfica. As reported by CM, the striker is unhappy with his move to the bench after scoring several important goals.

But if earlier the player hid his dissatisfaction, then after the derby he admitted his anger, heading to the locker room after the final whistle without thanking the fans for their support. Cabral came on in stoppage time (90+2 minutes) when Schmidt had released Tengstedt half an hour earlier, in the 61st minute.