Lage and the cold night that could be in January (the Benfica-Bologna chronicle) – Observer

Benfica’s last few weeks have been essentially result-oriented. The Reds had five consecutive victories, between the Championship, Portuguese Cup and Champions League, but the gray performances and a clear dependence on Di María’s individuality intensified the idea that Bruno Lage’s team has been more pragmatic than brilliant.

This Wednesday, however, it was once again important to win — more than playing well. Benfica hosted Bologna in Luz in the sixth round of the Champions League and a victory would leave the reds even more cemented in the classification zone for the playoff which gives access to the round of 16, especially at a time in the calendar when the last two games of the initial phase will only be played in January.

“The team feels motivated to respond at every moment. That was the goal we set when we arrived here three months ago. We drew up a plan with what ideas we wanted for the team and the players have done an exemplary job. It will be a difficult and tight schedule, with the game delayed. We feel the team is motivated, the players all have to be available to be able to respond. A good example of this is that since our beginning we have had good performances from players who came off the bench to help the team. Everyone has to be prepared, everyone has to be motivated to respond to each moment”, explained the red-black coach in the preview of the match.

Now, in this context and with Kökçü back, after serving a suspension against V. Guimarães in the Championship, Bruno Lage recovered his usual eleven and placed the Turk on Pavlidis’ back, with the natural support of Di María and Aktürkoğlu for the Greek. On the other side, in a Bologna team that was coming off a draw against Juventus and was deep in the Champions League elimination zone, Vincenzo Italiano had Dallinga as an offensive reference, in addition to Samuel Iling-Junior, Giovanni Fabbian and Urbanski.

The goal practically started with a disallowed goal. Still within the opening five minutes and after a defensive error by Bologna, Di María took the opportunity to isolate Pavlidis in the area and the Greek forward poked the ball over Lucasz Skorupski, but was in an irregular position (3′). The Italians responded with a shot from Giovanni Fabbian, after a wrong pass from Florentino (5′), and both moments were for a long time the most dangerous approaches to both goals.

Bologna had more of the ball and was almost always inserted in the opposite midfield, with Benfica not having the ability to regain the initiative and limiting themselves to controlling the Italian attacks. Vincenzo Italiano’s team also didn’t show great criteria or discernment when entering the final third and the game dragged on for the first half hour with practically no dangerous situations or points of interest.

From then on, however, Benfica seemed to wake up. Even though they weren’t able to have much possession of the ball or create open ball opportunities, Bruno Lage’s team started to take advantage of Bologna’s high lines to launch quick transitions and exploits from deep. Di María (30′) and Aursnes (36′) both shot against opponents and the Argentine still had a huge chance to score, with a first-time kick that Skorupski saved after a great cross from Carreras (43′).

At halftime, however, everything remained level. Bologna had more ball but in a very inconsequential way, Benfica chased the game but created the most obvious opportunities. At the end of the first half and after 45 somewhat boring minutes, the result seemed to suit the Italians much more than the Portuguese, who were much more objective when looking for submissions.

None of the coaches made changes at half-time and Benfica started better, with another high pressure and a different reaction to the loss of the ball that did not allow Bologna to have control of the incidents they showed in the first half. Even so, the first opportunity belonged to the Italians, with Dallinga evading Otamendi at speed and shooting for an attentive save by Trubin (51′).

The Reds assumed clear superiority in the second half and the dynamics of the match reversed. Bruno Lage’s team created danger essentially through the right aisle, where Aursnes also appeared to fall to the wing and cause imbalances, and Pavlidis came very close to opening the scoring with a shot saved by Skorupski after a cross from the Norwegian (65′).

The red coach made changes at this stage, swapping Aktürkoğlu and Pavlidis for Jan-Niklas Beste and Amdouni, and Vincenzo Italiano launched N’Doye, Pobega, Freuler and Lucumí all at once. Benfica’s superiority intensified after the substitutions, with Di María shooting against an opponent (79′) and Amdouni having a huge opportunity to score with a cross shot that Skorupski saved (80′), and Bruno Lage did all in by placing Arthur Cabral.

But until the end, and even with another dangerous shot from Amdouni that Skorupski also saved (90′), nothing changed. Benfica and Bologna played out a goalless draw at Luz and the reds remain in the qualifying zone for the playoff which gives access to the round of 16, with 10 points and in 15th place. The next two rounds, however, are against Barcelona and Juventus — and only in January will Bruno Lage be able to truly x-ray the importance of what happened this Wednesday.