Quality ink on the semi-final stamp

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

A safe and solid display - deserving of a bigger lead - allowed Benfica to beat Vizela 1-2 on Thursday, February 8, in the quarter-finals of the Portuguese Cup, played at the Minho side's home ground. The Eagles are through to the semi-finals, where they will face Sporting in a two-legged tie.

Roger Schmidt made three changes to the starting line-up for the match against Gil Vicente on matchday 20 of the Liga Betclic, which the Eagles won by 3-0. Álvaro Carreras made his first start in place of Morato on the left side of the defense, Kökcü came on in midfield in exchange for Florentino, and João Mário appeared on the left of the attack, from which position Aursnes moved back to the right of the defense in place of Bah.

Benfica pressed and Vizela struggled to break forward. In the 13th minute, Roger Schmidt's men had two clear chances to open the scoring. First, Rafa's cross from the left to the far post led to João Mário heading dangerously towards Arthur Cabral, but the Brazilian goal scorer couldn't divert the ball into the back of the net. Then, following a ball relieved by Jota Gonçalves, Kökcü shot from outside the box for a good save from Ruberto.

Benfica's goal came in the 34th minute. And by Arthur Cabral, who has now scored in three consecutive games. The move began with João Mário recovering the ball after Arthur Cabral had pressured Domingos Quina on the edge of the Reds' penalty box. The No. 20 drove the ball towards the opposite half and opened up on the left for Rafa, who drifted into the middle and served Arthur Cabral in the area between the penalty spot and the edge of the box. The No. 9 fired the ball into the back of the net (0-1), his 8th goal of the 2023/24 season.

With 57% possession at the end of the first half, Benfica went into the second half with the clear objective of getting a second goal and finding more comfort on the scoreboard. Although the first few minutes were marked by territorial dominance, with a few threats, the eagles only achieved their goal in the 65th minute.

Aursnes received Di María's pass after he had combined with Kökcü on the right side of the attack, advanced down the corridor and crossed tenuously. The ball crossed the Vizela penalty area, Arthur Cabral, in front of goal, couldn't make amends and João Mário, at the far post, "killed" it on his chest and finished with a left-footed cross, causing the ball to hit the far post (0-2).

Just when the teams' performances suggested that Benfica would extend their lead, the opposite happened. Following a cross from Diogo Nascimento outside the area, the ball was deflected by Petrov, who was able to reduce the score to the minimum difference (1-2).

Benfica won and secured their place in the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup, where they will meet Sporting in two legs. The first leg will take place at the Estádio José Alvalade between February 27 and 29, while the second leg will be played at the Estádio da Luz between April 2 and 4.

The Eagles return to Minho this Sunday, February 11, at 8:30 pm, against Vitória SC, on matchday 21 of the Liga Betclic.