It wasn’t a stroll – credit to the commitment of the Boavista players – but Benfica gained another dose of confidence at the Estádio do Bessa. In Bruno Lage’s third match at the helm of the “eagles,” the “encarnados” were almost always superior and, again under decisive Turkish influence, justly secured the three points: Kerem Aktürkoglu put in another great performance and assisted Vangelis Pavlidis and Orkun Kökçü for the first two goals of Benfica in the first half. In the stoppage time, Arthur Cabral added the final 3-0, sealing the victory for the Benfica side in a match that closed round 6 of the I Liga.
Four days after a hard-fought victory (and performance) in Belgrade, Bruno Lage outlined a strategy for his third game at the helm of Benfica with few changes in the lineup, but with a game plan that included a small novelty. With the injured Bah absent, the “encarnado” coach made it clear that Issa Kaboré is far from being a “reinforcement,” and the solution for the right side of defense was Tomás Araújo.
However, the news was in the midfield. Starting in Lage’s first two games, Rollheiser sat on the bench, and in his place came Ausners. On paper, it seemed that the Norwegian was going to play close to Florentino, with Kökçü nearer to Pavlidis, but the coach’s plan was different: a 4x3x3, with Ausners and Kökçü playing side by side as interior midfielders, ahead of Florentino.
In one of the most critical moments of its 121-year history, Boavista took to the pitch at Bessa without pressure, without reinforcements, and missing a handful of players who were significant for their hard-fought survival last season. With five surprising points garnered in the first five matches – having only lost narrowly to Sp. Braga and Famalicão – but with a depleted squad, Italian coach Cristiano Bacci had to be creative once again to assemble a team that, with the injured João Gonçalves, Abascal, and Reisinho, became even more weakened.
If in goal the youngest goalkeeper playing in the I Liga (Tomé Sousa) faced another test, the defense was patched together with the available personnel: centrally, there were two adaptations (the left-footed Bruno Onyemaechi and Filipe Ferreira), with midfielder Joel Silva on the left. Beyond that, there was more experience and players in their natural positions, but also another debut as a starter: João Barros, aged 18.
Yet, the limitations faced by Boavista became glaring when looking at who Bacci had sat beside him. Excluding Cesar and Namora, the remaining seven substitutes had an average age of 19 years and, before the start of the season, a total of one game in the I Liga.
Against this backdrop, the question was how much resistance and tenacity the “axadrezada” would show. The answer came after 11 minutes. Even showing the commitment and audacity of the earlier rounds – Salvador Agra had the first opportunity at his feet, in the 3rd minute – Boavista quickly found themselves in trouble to stop the carousel led by Di María, Aktürkoglu, and company, and, after Tomé prevented Aktürkoglu from scoring again (7′), the Turkish winger set the stage for Pavlidis to return to scoring: the former Galatasaray player left the defenders behind in the area and gifted the Greek a simple goal.
Not showing signs of being impacted by the goal, the Portuenses maintained their commitment, and Vukotic (17′) and Seba (26′) forced Trubin into attentive saves. However, the game was still under “encarnado” control, and just before the half-hour mark, Kökçü showed that, without Schmidt’s restraints, he could make the difference: after another assist from Aktürkoglu, the Turkish player shot from distance, and after hitting the left post, the ball went back into the Boavista net.
Trailing by two goals and without solutions on the bench to allow for major tactical changes, the Boavista players, showing courage, entered the second half with the intention of pressuring the ball carrier from Benfica as they exited Trubin’s area. However, Bacci’s audacity had no effect.
With players of a different quality, Lage’s team, even while operating at lower rotations, remained closer to scoring than their opponents, but substitutions began to disrupt the rhythm. However, just before the final whistle, during one of the first times he touched the ball, Arthur Cabral took advantage of a mistake by Onyemaechi and closed the accounts at 3-0.