Without taking the foot off the throttle

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Benfica thrashed Estoril by 1-5 this Sunday, at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota, on matchday 12 of the Liga Bwin.

On the trip to Amoreira, Roger Schmidt made two changes in the starting eleven compared to the team presented in the victory in Haifa against Maccabi. Chiquinho and Musa took the places of Aursnes and Gonçalo Ramos.

The first goal of the match occurred at 25'. Grimaldo's cross from the left and Petar Musa opened the scoring at Estádio António Coimbra da Mota with a header. The Croatian's fifth goal of the season, his first as a starter.

Taking control of the match, Benfica didn't take their foot off the throttle and, in the 30th minute, scored again. Canto Enzo took a corner from the right, and, inside the area, the ball found Chiquinho's back heel, who assisted António Silva (voted Man of the Match), who also back heeled to make it 0-2. The first goal of the young center back in the Portuguese League. 

Three minutes later, another goal. Rafa crossed to the far post where Florentino was, who assisted António Silva, on the opposite side, for his brace. 0-3 at 40', the result at the break.

At 67',  Neres assisted João Mário for the 0-4. The Portuguese international's ninth goal of the season, his fifth in the Portuguese League.

At 89', the moment of the night: Mihailo (who entered at 85' to replace Grimaldo), with a powerful shot, in the middle of the opponent's midfield, gave no chance to the Estoril goalkeeper. Mihailo's scoring debut, with a goal that will undoubtedly feature in the best of the 2022/23 season.

In the 90'+1' Enzo slipped in a forbidden zone and the home team took advantage, through Serginho, to reduce the score to 1-5.

An uncontested victory for Benfica, which now has 34 points, eight more than the 2nd place (FC Porto).

 The reds return to the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota in three days. Estoril and Benfica play on Wednesday, November 9 (8:45 pm), in the 4th round of the Portuguese Cup.