The Eusébios triumphed across the board

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Benfica recorded their fifth consecutive win in all competitions on Saturday, January 6, beating Arouca 0-3 on matchday 16 of the Liga Betclic. Rafa, Kökcü and Musa scored the goals in a victory marked by the overcoming of two disallowed goals before the 0-1 and another demonstration of defensive fortitude: 9th game with a clean sheet in the Championship!

Returning to action after missing the last game at home to Famalicão (3-0), Otamendi and Di María were in the starting eleven alongside Trubin, Aursnes, António Silva, Morato, João Neves, Kökcü, Di María, João Mário, Rafa and Arthur Cabral. One day after the 10th anniversary of Eusébio's death, all of them (and the substitutes used) played with the King's name printed on their shirts in a beautiful tribute to the greatest figure in the club's history.

The first cry for goal from the thousands of Benfica fans who flooded into Arouca came after 15 minutes, but it proved to be premature. After a quick ball exchange from Roger Schmidt's team, which involved Arouca in a merry-go-round, João Neves passed to Arthur Cabral. He advanced into the area and touched it to Rafa, who slotted the ball into the net. The assistant referee immediately signaled an irregular position for the Brazilian, and the VAR lines indicated that he was 18 centimeters offside.

In the 29th minute, the Reds had another goal disallowed. Pressing hard, Aursnes won the ball on the edge of the Arouca box and set up Rafa, who took control and shot on target. However, the No 27 was slightly ahead of the Norwegian when he passed.

Enjoying a great run of form, Rafa didn't give up looking for a goal, and his persistence was rewarded in the 39th minute. Following a superb pass from Di María, the forward was isolated at the back of the defense, shot against Arruabarrena and, on the rebound, managed to make it 0-1! The move was still scrutinized by the VAR, which confirmed Rafa's regular position and validated his 6th goal in the Liga Betclic, which allowed him to isolate himself at the top of Benfica's scoring list in the competition.

In stoppage time, at 45'+2', Cristo González put the ball into the net, but the goal was well disallowed by the linesman for a clear offside by Mujica in the build-up.

Alerted by their opponents' growth, Benfica went into the second half at full throttle and consolidated their lead after 47 minutes. Once again, Di María showed all his vision with a pass to isolate Rafa, who, in a clever move, tapped the ball past Arruabarrena. Alone in front of the empty net, Kökcü only had to tap in to make it 0-2. In a game marked by offside lines, Benfica's second goal was also disallowed, but after the VAR analysis, Rafa's regular position (46 centimeters) was confirmed and the celebrations could finally intensify.

In the 82nd minute, Di María tried to bring the stands of the Estádio Municipal de Arouca to their knees with a goal out of this world, but his lob from very close range to Arruabarrena went just over the bar.

With their eyes always on their opponents' goal, Benfica made it 0-3 in the 85th minute. Kökcü combined well with Morato, looked for the line and crossed into the heart of the box, where Musa got ahead of Javi Montero to score with a touch of class. It was the Croatian striker's second goal in consecutive Liga Betclic matches, making it five in the competition.

Benfica return to Liga Betclic action on January 14 (Sunday) when they host Rio Ave on matchday 17. Before that, the Glorioso hosts SC Braga on Wednesday 10, in thePortuguese Cup round of 16.