Delayed recovery at Lusha After the Portuguese Cup defeat to Sporting and the league defeat to Porto, Benfica is once again strengthening its position, this time in the Europa League. He had everything he needed to get back to winning ways, but ultimately allowed Rangers to leave the Luz alive, with a 2-2 draw that felt a little short and left things wide open for Glasgow. Moreover, the two goals scored among so many attacking intentions were the result of two gifts from the opponent: an accidental handball that led to a penalty, and a meaningless own goal. The Scots, having two ice cubes at crucial moments, look at the glass from the point of view of a person who sees it half full. Benfica came out strong. As if trying to throw the demons behind my back. At five minutes it was already sweltering, but at seven the Scots had already brought the ice into the game. Almost the first time they crossed the midfield line, they achieved their goal through mutual concessions. Simple processes and the ball hits Trubin’s goal. The Luz team broke the pace a bit. But I knew how to be patient to find the right dynamic again. Given the great difficulties in Rangers’ formation, they eventually settled back into the opposition midfield. They extended their dominance in the closing stages of the first half and were rewarded in stoppage time with an equalizing goal from the penalty spot, a handball in the penalty area from Souttar. Di Maria was unstoppable from the penalty spot. But the 1:1 score did not last long. Before the break, the Rangers were back on the ice with another goal, scored by Sterling after an assist from Portugal’s Fabio Silva. In the second half, Benfica again baffled their opponents. He reached a draw with an opponent’s own goal, attacked, but could not achieve a knockout. And he had everything to do it, but Roger Schmidt once again showed little courage when it came to changing the team. Good attitude nonetheless
Benfica did not win the game. But after being dropped at the Dragao following another derby defeat at Sporting, he was in good spirits. This Thursday, at times, it felt like everything that was supposed to go wrong did. And it turned out to be the best team.
Dry powder in attack
Benfica’s attack resulted in a clean sheet in a game that was one-sided at points. More needed to be done on the firing line. The penalty and own goal mask weaknesses in an attacking front that is still searching for its identity at this stage of the season.
One was there, three were not. Everything is very good
Benfica earned a penalty thanks to Souttar’s hand in the penalty area. The correct decision of the referee on the recommendation of the VAR. The German referee did well again by ignoring three more maximum penalties demanded by the Reds in games against Neres (17 minutes), Di Maria (38 minutes) and Ba (58 minutes).
White scarves and whistles in the Light
This Thursday Roger Schmidt faced strong opposition in Luz, with many fans whistling and showing white scarves after the game. “We played good football and created a lot of opportunities. Normally we should have won this game,” said the Benfica coach, who lamented the lack of efficiency: “We just had to take our chances and decide how best to score.”
This is the second time this season that Benfica have failed to win three matches in a row. From November to December there were three draws, now there are two defeats and a draw. “We have to get out of this terrible situation…” said Captain Otamendi.