P. Ferreira-Benfica: one more battle to overcome

This cycle of Benfica is composed of four matches, of each three are at home. The away match takes place this Saturday, at 8:30 pm, at Estádio da Capital do Móvel.

In the previous 19 trips to Paços de Ferreira home ground, the eagles bagged 12 triumphs and conceded four draws and three losses.

P. Ferreira debut in the 1st Division happened in 1991/92. Benfica had been National Champion in the previous season and was defending the title. Coached by Sven-Göran Eriksson, the reds got a 1-all draw. Adalberto, a Paços defender, opened the scoring at 61'; César Brito came off the bench to score the equalizer in the 79th minute.

The tenure of "os castores"[ the beavers] in the Portuguese Top Flight did not last long. In 1994/95 they were already in the 2nd Division, but the turn of the century was the turning point for Paços de Ferreira. Since 2000/01 they have been regular “customers” of Liga NOS with a noticeable competitive increase, to the point of having been present in the League Cup final ( they lost against Benfica with Rui Vitória as coach) and in the UEFA Cup.

With varying degrees of difficulty, Benfica almost invariably brings a positive result from Paços de Ferreira, but the best cycle of triumphs occurred between 2007/08 and 2013/14. Seven seasons, seven eagles' victories. It worth highlighting the 1-5 thrashing, in 2010/11 season. Nuno Gomes (2), Cardozo, Aimar and Gaitán were the goal scorers.

Speaking of goals… At Paços de Ferreira's home ground, Rui Vitória's men have scored 37 goals and conceded 19. Benfica's top scorer at Mata Real for the National Championship is Nuno Gomes, with five goals in four matches. He is followed by Cardozo with three strikes and Gaitán, with two.

RECORD OF MATCHES P. FERREIRA-BENFICA IN THE LIGA NOS

Text: Marco Rebelo

Pics: Archive / SL Benfica