Ambition and unity in the Portuguese Cup final

At 5:15 pm on Sunday, May 25, the Estadio Nacional will host the Portuguese Cup final in a Lisbon derby format, where Benfica will be looking to win their 27th trophy against Sporting.

This is the 9th time that the capital's rivals have met in the Portuguese Cup final. In the 8 previous clashes, the eagles have lifted the trophy on 6 occasions, with 20 goals scored against 16 conceded.

This season, Benfica and Sporting have already played each other in the final of the League Cup, with the Reds prevailing on penalties (6-7), after a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes.

On their way to Jamor, Benfica began by eliminating Pevidém, from the Campeonato de Portugal, at the Estádio Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in Moreira de Cónegos, with a 0-2 victory. Once past the 3rd round, 3 duels against Liga Betclic teams followed.

In the 4th round, the eagles beat Estrela da Amadora (7-0), and in the round of 16, at the Estádio de São Luís, in Faro, hey turned the game around to beat Farense (1-3). In the quarter-finals, Bruno Lage's side beat SC Braga 1-0, at Estádio da Luz.

In the semi-finals, Benfica faced Tirsense and made their superiority clear against the Campeonato de Portugal side in both legs of the tie: 0-5 wins at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, the home of the Jesuits, and 4-0 at the Cathedral.

For their part, Sporting saw off Portimonense (1-2), Amarante (6-0), Santa Clara (2-1, after extra time), Gil Vicente (0-1) and Rio Ave (2-0, at the Estádio osé Alvalade, and 1-2, at the Estádio Capital do Móvel) to reach the final.

With 22 goals scored, and just one conceded, the Reds go into the final with the best attack and the best defense in this edition of the Portuguese Cup.

Scorer of 4 goals, Arthur Cabral is Benfica's top scorer in the competition, while Schjelderup stands out in terms of assists, with 3.

Benfica used 32 different players during this run, with Bajrami, Leandro, João Veloso, Joshua Wynder, Gerson Sousa, André Gomes and Hugo Félix making their first team debuts. Samuel Soares, with 530 minutes played, is the most used player in the competition.