Benfica faced Casa Pia this Sunday, in a game that followed the re-election of Rui Costa as club president for the next four years.
On the eve of the game, Benfica fans flocked to the Luz stadium and various Benfica fan clubs throughout the country to elect the new president. The choice was between Rui Costa, the outgoing president running for re-election, who had won the first round of elections, and Noronha Lopes, who had been leading in the polls for the first term but lost electoral momentum. Rui Costa confirmed his status as the favourite, and the more than 93,000 members who went to the polls once again entrusted him with the fate of the Eagles. The former player won 65.89% of the votes, compared to 34.11% obtained by Noronha Lopes.
In the aftermath of the election battle decided off the pitch, the team coached by José Mourinho wanted to give a positive response to the fans after the defeat to Bayer Leverkusen. The Reds started pressing high, having a great opportunity in the 9th minute when Enzo shot unexpectedly from outside the area. However, the ball ended up hitting the post.
The geese couldn’t withstand Benfica’s offensive for long, and the Reds scored before the first twenty minutes. Pavlidis received the ball inside the penalty area and headed it to Sudakov, who, with a curling shot, finished for the first goal of the night.
After the goal, the pace of the game cooled considerably, with Benfica continuing to control the match, but without creating many clear chances. Casa Pia remained very subdued, and that’s how the teams went to the dressing rooms.
In the second half, the Eagles reached 2-0 through a penalty converted by Pavlidis, who gave Patrick Sequeira no chance.
The team, now coached by Gonçalo Brandão, had a golden opportunity to get back into the game. In the 63rd minute, a penalty was awarded to Casa Pia for a handball by António Silva, a decision heavily contested by José Mourinho, who even received a yellow card for protesting.
Cassiano was called upon to face the monumental booing that echoed in the Luz stadium. Trubin shone in the penalty kick, saving the shot. However, Tomás Araújo, in an attempt to clear the ball, ended up putting it into his own net – an unfortunate moment for the Benfica defender.
It was in stoppage time that the visitors silenced the Estádio da Luz. Renato Nhaga, with a second-half shot, put the ball in the net, thus fixing the result at 2-2.
With this draw, the Reds suffered their third point loss in stoppage time at the Luz stadium – against Rio Ave and Santa Clara.
A draw that felt like a defeat for Benfica, who are now 3 points behind Sporting CP and 6 points behind FC Porto.
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