Around 20 demonic minutes from Di María were enough for Benfica to seal the triumph in the fourth round of the Portuguese Cup, against Estrela da Amadora (7-0). Shirt 11 wanted to make sure there would be no extra time and played a hattrick full of magic to rest the fans and prepare the team for a great performance, in the middle of the Estádio da Luz.
Not all the fans were sitting in the chair yet and Luz (emptier than usual) was already exploding with joy and in double doses. After good work with Aursnes, Di María tried to cross the ball, failed, but made amends with a beautiful shot to open the scoring.
And if the first two minutes didn't take long to heat up, the following ones were even better. Bah combined well with Aursnes, found Di María again in the area and the Argentine scored twice with a great bicycle kick, in a moment of pure magic.
The second goal woke up the tricolorswho realized he had to give more if he wanted to play in the game. The answer came from Rodrigo Pinho, who allowed a huge save to Samuel Soares.
The game seemed to have found a balance, but Di María didn't agree. Aursnes anticipated the ball and released it to the Argentine, who sat his opponents down and again took a great shot into the back of the net, putting the score at 3-0 at an early stage of the game.
Estrela da Amadora entered a somewhat disorganized phase and was unable to create any kind of danger, while Benfica took advantage of the Tricolores' greater exposure to try to increase their advantage. Even so, the nets did not swing again in the first half and the teams returned to the dressing rooms with a fair result.
Second period of minimum services was sufficient
Estrela da Amadora returned from the dressing rooms a different team, much bolder and with a greater capacity to attack Samuel Soares' goal. In the first 15 minutes he managed to create many difficulties for Benfica, which in truth did not increase the advantage due to Arthur Cabral's lack of aim.
However, the one who scored the fourth goal was the player who came on at half-time. Akturkoglu collected the ball from a beautiful combination between Di María and Cabral and in the face of Meixedo he only had to choose his side. The eagles exuded confidence and every move smelled like a goal.
With victory practically guaranteed, based on the result and the way the game unfolded, Bruno Lage started to move. He launched Kokçu, Amdouni and also offered his debut for the first team to right-back Leandro Santos.
However, the fourth goal had a soporific effect on the match and the match entered autopilot. The Benfica team attacked, always with good combinations through short passes, while Estrela da Amadora was completely surrendered, trying only for the honorary goal.
Already as a farewell, and at a stage when the game was already at a low pace, Kokçu launched a 30-meter pass, tearing through the lines of the tricolor emblem, finding Amdouni who also scored the ball, when the clock was already showing 80 minutes.
But the goals didn't stop there and there was another beautiful moment. Arthur Cabral (who failed so much tonight), had the benefit of the doubt from Bruno Lage, who kept him on the field, and responded with a bicycle goal in stylevery close to the end. When least expected, the number 9 still scored twice, taking advantage of a mistake by Meixedo.
This was the final stone of a victory built with great quality from the beginning of the match and which leaves Benfica in the round of 16 of the Portuguese Cup, with an artistic note.
