The destroyer of Benfica is one step away from 38th place

The exit of the championship leader was truly stunning. In the 2nd minute, João Neves hit the post, and shortly after that, Grimaldo shot through Portimonense’s goal. The goal was confirmed by the assistant and VAR, although it is not entirely clear whether the ball crossed the goal line. Opportunities followed Algarve’s goal. Kosuke, the crossbar and the lack of a goal did not allow Portimonense to reach half an hour of play with two or three more goals in the box.

As Benfica failed to score, Relvas helped. The Algarve defender had the misfortune of scoring an own goal. Then, thanks to a coup, Pedrau moved to the home team when he did next to nothing for it.

Attention turned back to Portimonense’s goal. Ramos threatened the third, but Kosuke defended himself. After 45 minutes, the league’s top scorer (18) didn’t concede a great individual shot.

The second half turned out to be less tense, but always with the loss of the Benfica attackers coming to the fore. Kosuke defended as best he could until Musa entered the match. The Croatian scored twice in two minutes (the goalkeeper of the Japanese was largely to blame in one of the moves).

Sporting are following the path of the eagles to a party that many fans are looking forward to and are already planning. The only certainty at the moment, and with two league games to go, is that Benfica have already secured direct qualification to the Champions League in the 2023/2024 season.

POSITIVELY
THE GOALKEEPER IS RETURNING
There were seven games without goals and he reappeared this Saturday. He runs a lot, wears down his opponents and manages to have a few chances. This Saturday was decisive in a goal from the avant-garde. Technical and deadly.

NEGATIVE
INEFFICIENCY LEADS TO IRRITATION
Benfica scored five but had a very good chance of scoring twice. Roger Schmidt had moments of some annoyance on the bench due to the inefficiency his players had shown.

ARBITRATION
PENALTY FOR SIGNING
There is no repetition at the gates of Grimaldo, which unequivocally confirms that the ball hit completely. Well, annulment of the goals of Joao Mario and Rafa due to offside. 85′ penalty for signaling Ramos.

The red trio elude the yellows and could play against Sporting
None of the three Benfica players facing expulsion have received a yellow card. So Grimaldo, António Silva and João Mario could take on Sporting in the next round. On the Lions’ side, a handful of players also could have missed the next round if booked, but Matheus Reis, Nuno Santos, Morita, Edwards and Chermity came out unscathed. Who misses the derby is Adan, who was expelled.