The Estádio da Luz hosted the headline match of the 13th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic this Friday, which ended in a 1-1 draw between Benfica and Sporting CP.
For both teams, dropping points was a scenario to be avoided. The team coached by José Mourinho had the possibility, in case of victory, of closing the gap on Sporting CP and reducing the distance to the Dragons, depending on what happened in Tondela.
Meanwhile, the Alvalade team sought to increase the gap to the Reds and extend their positive run in the championship, thus maintaining their pursuit of the leader, FC Porto.
Sporting started the match better and, just 3 minutes in, Luis Suárez, with a shot on target that forced Trubin into a tight save, cleared the ball with his foot.
The Reds began to feel the pressure from the Lions’ attack and, in the 12th minute, following an unfortunate clearance by Barrenechea, Pedro Gonçalves stole the ball at the edge of the penalty area and, with no chance for Trubin, opened the scoring at the Luz stadium.
However, bucking the trend, the home team scored before the half-hour mark when, with a masterful pass from Rios into the area, Amar Dedic assisted Sudakov, who put the ball in the net. There’s a feeling that Geny Catamo could have done more in the play that gave Benfica the equaliser.
At halftime, a controversial moment at the Estádio da Luz, the team coached by Rui Borges protested, alleging a foul by António Silva on Luis Suárez, which could result in a maximum penalty for the visiting team. However, the referee, Antonio Nobre, did not call any infraction and ended the first half.
In the second half, the red-and-black team came out pressing more, not allowing Sporting to build from midfield and having more initiative in the game, in a quite great change of attitude.
In the 63rd minute, Aursnes, with a first-time shot on target, surprised the rival’s defensive block, but Rui Silva caught the ball safely.
Later, the game entered a downward phase in terms of quality, with many fouls on both sides and several stoppages. Only ten minutes from the end did a dangerous situation arise again, when Ríos shot the ball from outside the area, and it went just wide of the right post of the Sporting goal.
It was during stoppage time that Prestianni was sent off for a foul on Geny Catamo, forcing Benfica to play the remainder of the match with one less player.
In the mythical Lisbon derby, the desire not to lose was greater than the desire to win, and in the end, FC Porto may benefit.
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