Five games later, Benfica were back on winning ways and extended the margin again to second place in the League, Porto with four points. It was an honest triumph, but the leader showed great clumsiness and inefficiency.
Trials at this time of the season and after bad results usually never produce much. But Schmidt was willing to take the risk. He put Orsnes in the right-back position, Joao Neves made his debut in the starting XI and stuck Neres on the left flank of the attack. The last two were among the best, but players like Rafa, Joao Mario and Ramos are still far from where they have already been.
Benfica, as expected, dominated in almost all areas. Even if he didn’t play very well, he created clear scoring chances. Joao Neves and Rafa squandered two of them incredibly.
João Mário missed a penalty that could have appeased Roger Schmidt’s side before Cassiano got his only clear chance to score for Estoril. Benfica then gained a (fair) lead before half-time thanks to a great performance by Neres, who headed Otamendi into the ball.
After the break, the pace of the game fell even more, Estoril had more possession of the ball, but without practical effect. Benfica have always controlled action with quick exits. Neres and Joao Mario had good opportunities to increase the score, but they missed the mark. Schmidt brought freshness to the team, but as the minutes passed and with minimal margins, the tension built up with every corner kick or approach by Estoril.
The Reds breathed a sigh of relief after the final whistle. Triumph after two consecutive defeats in the League against Porto and Chaves. Benfica will now travel to Barcelos next Saturday for another final for the leader who is chasing his 38th title.
Positive
determined captain
Otamendi redeemed himself with a beautiful header, after negative displays of moves that ended up hurting the team. It was the first goal in the league and brought in three important points.
Negative
Where does Joao Mario stay?
It’s not because you don’t score a penalty, it’s a minus of the game. The midfielder has played five games far short of what he has already done. Looks unfaithful and flameless. But this is not the only one. Rafa Silva is no better either.
referee
Good help from VAR
It wasn’t until VAR interfered that Rui Costa signaled a penalty for João Mario. VAR also played a crucial role in Mousa’s goal being annulled due to offside. Too bad for not showing Otamendi a second yellow card.
Schmidt: “Five games left and we have to win four
“It’s nice to win matches, especially since we haven’t won in a long time. We showed a great attitude, a lot of quality and could make life easier by scoring more goals earlier. But we scored one goal, and if we don’t score the second, we must maintain concentration and discipline. We didn’t give the opponent an opportunity and it was the end of a difficult week,” Roger Schmidt said after Sunday’s meeting.
The German coach now only thinks about the next matches: “This victory is important for the team. All of them are critical. We have five games to play and we have to win four of them. I saw positive dynamics and saw how the players fought to the end. It was a good day for us.”
“I felt very good”
“We knew it was going to be a tough game, that we had to prove ourselves from start to finish. That’s what we did and we got three points,” said Neres, the best player on the field and the author of the move. which brought Benfica a goal scored by Otamendi. “I felt very good and the team came in the same spirit as me.”
Joao Carvalho
“We played on a difficult field against a strong team. If we were lucky, we could draw. We will fight to the end,” said Joao Carvalho (Estoril).
“Congratulations”
“I want to congratulate Benfica because it was a fair victory. We had a defensive organization, but we needed to be more dangerous on the way out of the attack. We managed to eliminate the pressure from Benfica in the first phase, but then we had to create faster and more efficiently,” said Ricardo Soares, Estoril’s manager.
Author: Filipe Antonio Ferreira
Source: CM Jornal

I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.