Portuguese Cup: in search of the other 37

The derby from the 2^nd leg of the Portuguese Cup semifinals takes place on Wednesday, April 3 at 8:45 pm at Estádio José Alvalade, and Benfica, with a 2-1 lead in the tie, is looking to seal the presence in the 37^th final of the Portuguese Cup in its history!

The Club is already the record holder in presences and finals won: 36 and 26, respectively, but intends, in the 37^th Lisbon derby in the Portuguese Cup, to reach the first of the two 37 it might achieve in 2018/19.

In the 1^st leg match, on February 6, at Estádio da Luz, Benfica won by 2-1, with a goal from Gabriel and an own-goal from Ilori; Bruno Fernandes pulled one back for the lions. The eternal derby returns to bring Lisbon to a halt. The Reds have already played 305 matches against Sporting and have the upper hand in the duel: 132 triumphs against 108 losses.

In the Portuguese Cup, Sporting has a slight advantage: 18 wins against 16 from Benfica, but the top scorer in the Portuguese Cup derby is from Benfica. Arsénio scored six goals in eight matches against Sporting. It is worth highlighting the this is 8^th semifinal between the two emblems (1944/45, 1947/48, 1958/59, 1959/60 e 1962/63, 2007/08 and in the current season);

In about two months, between the 1st and 2nd leg matches, a lot has changed. The men under Marcel Keizer come from four consecutive triumphs in the Liga NOS (3-1 against Portimonense, 1-2 against Boavista, 1-0 against Santa Clara and 1-3 against GD Chaves). On the other side, the team from Luz is also on the back of a winning streak. The 1-0 win over Tondela was the third consecutive win after the 3-0 against Dinamo Zagreb and 0-4 against Moreirense.

With the support of the fans (the tickets flew on Monday morning), Benfica fights for the passport to the 37^th, which will open the door to the last battle to win the 27^th Portuguese Cup in the club's history.

Benfica's last success in the competition happened on May 28, 2017 – end of the 2016/17 season– against V. Guimarães (2-1). At Estádio do Jamor, the Eagles scored through Raúl Jiménez and Salvio; Zangu scored for V. Guimarães. In that season, Benfica added the Portuguese Cup to the unprecedented fourth league title in a row and confirmed the 11^th double of its history.

The Portuguese Cup final is scheduled for May 25 at Estádio Nacional, in Jamor.

Text: Marco Rebelo

Pics: Archive / SL Benfica