Successful flight of an imperial eagle on a windy afternoon

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Benfica won in Chaves by 0-2, with goals from Aursnes and João Mário, in a game from matchday 10 of the Liga Betclic, played this Saturday, November 4. João Neves was involved in both goals and was the Man of The Match.

After the good result that the three central defenders' system gave in the match against Arouca (0-2), on matchday 2 of Group B of the 3rd stage of the League Cup, Roger Schmidt kept the tactical design and Benfica played in Chaves with the same eleven as last Tuesday, October 31.

The starting line-up for this match on matchday 10 was as follows: Trubin, António Silva, Otamendi, Morato, Florentino, João Neves, Aursnes, João Mário, Rafa, Di María and Guedes.

By the half-hour mark, Benfica were dominating and controlling the game, they were settled in the opposition half, exchanging the ball well and making variations on the flanks, but only at times did they manage to break through Chaves' defensive web, which was very reactive and attentive to all the Reds' movements.

Half-time arrived with the score level, despite Benfica's dominance and offensive flow at the Estádio Municipal Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira.

For the second half, the Reds coach removed Guedes and brought Arthur Cabral onto the pitch.

At 59', João Neves picked up the ball, broke through the defensive wall, brushed off three opponents, and served Arthur Cabral. The latter shot toward goal, the ball still hit the post, after a cutback by an opposing player, but Aursnes appeared to confirm the 0-1.

In the last 20 minutes of the game, Roger Schmidt, in order to freshen up the team, took off Di María and put on Tengstedt (71').

The next minute, a penalty was awarded to the Eagles. João Neves was hit in the face by Bruno Langa's right arm, inside Chaves' area, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Called upon to take the penalty, João Mário fired home to make it 0-2 (80').

The number 20 scored his third goal in the last five matches, after having scored against Lusitânia (Portuguese Cup) and Casa Pia (Liga Betclic).

In the 83rd minute, Roger Schmidt changed the team again: Rafa and João Mário went out, Musa and Chiquinho came in respectively.

Just inside the 90 minutes, Musa combined well with Arthur Cabral and put the ball into the back of the net. However, the VAR flagged the Croatian international offside (nine centimeters).

After stoppage time, Hélder Malheiro blew the final whistle, confirming the Reds' 0-2 victory and, consequently, their fifth straight away win in Liga Betclic matches.

At the same time, this was the fifth Liga Betclic 2023/24 match in which the Eagles finished without conceding a goal.

In the next round (MD 11), Benfica hosts Sporting, in a match scheduled for 8:30 pm  on Sunday, November 12. However, on Wednesday, November 8, 5:45 pm, the Eagles face águias Real Sociedad, at the  Reale Arena, in San Sebastián (Spain), on matchday 4 of the Champions League group D.