Class and competence in the same package

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Benfica picked up their fourth consecutive win on Saturday 16 September after beating Vizela (1-2) on Matchday 5 of the Liga Betclic. Musa and Di María scored the eagles' goals in a top-class first half from Roger Schmidt's side.

On his debut for Benfica, Trubin was the only new addition to the line-up used in the win against Vitória SC and joined Bah, António Silva, Otamendi, Aursnes, João Neves, Kökcü, Di María, João Mário, Rafa and Musa.

In the 9th minute, the 0-1 arrived. Following a combination between João Mário and Aursnes, the Norwegian found Kökcü alone in the center. The latter waited for Rafa to come up and passed to the number 27, who crossed for Musa. The striker controlled the ball and fired it into the back of the net, with the ball taking a deflection off a Vizela defender before going in.

The goal wasn't enough to quench the hunger of the Eagles, who came close to making it 0-2 after 11 minutes. Di María won the line on the left and crossed to the far post, where Anderson, in an attempt to intercept Bah's header, shot at Buntic's goal post.

At 26'. Following a direct free-kick, Kökcü shot hard and the ball kissed the crossbar before going over the line.

The Reds' first attempt hit the crossbar, but their second was successful. After a foul on Rafa on the edge of the Vizela penalty area, Di María stepped up to take the direct free kick and made it 0-2 in impeccable fashion: he shot from outside the box and gave Buntic no chance. The Argentinian international's fourth goal in Liga Betclic 2023/24.

At the start of the second half, Vizela was the first team to create danger. In the 50th minute, after a good initiative on the right, Essende received the ball in the box and tried to turn to shoot, but Otamendi prevented his opponent from finishing.

In the 67th minute, in a seemingly harmless move, Luís Godinho awarded a penalty to Vizela after Essende fell in a ball dispute with Aursnes. The VAR validated the decision, Samu stepped up to take the penalty and deceived Trubin to make it 1-2 in the 70th minute.

One minute from the end of regulation time, after Musa and Di María had been replaced by Arthur Cabral and Neres, the VAR came into play again. After a through ball from Otamendi, Rafa got to the ball first, but Buntic stopped the number 27's dribble with his right arm, just outside the area. The sent-off of Vizela's goalkeeper was under consideration, but the move was overturned for Rafa's offside at the start of the play.

Benfica will be back on the pitch on Wednesday, September 20, for their opening match in the current edition of the Champions League: the match against FC Salzburg at the Estádio da Luz is scheduled for 8 pm.