A Christmas gift called isolated leadership. Benfica made the most of Sporting's draw and took sole leadership of the Liga Portugal before the trip to Alvalade, after beating Estoril Praia 3-0. Pavlidis (28') opened the scoring after hitting the post minutes before and Amdouni (73' and 90+4) was once again decisive when he came off the bench to score the calming goal and confirm the climb to the top of the table.
The Benfica fans asked for leadership this Christmas and Benfica, with the help of Sporting, who drew in Barcelos and are going through a troubled moment with the increasingly likely departure of João Pereira, went after that in the reception to Estoril Praia, who brought forward the day before Christmas, but also the classic at the Alvalade Stadium.
After recovering ground with the visit to Madeira, Bruno Lage's team had a second chance to reach this isolated game at the top of the Portugal League and this time they didn't waste it. The coach made only two changes, leaving out Otamendi, who made a splash during his trip to Argentina to celebrate his daughter's 15th birthday. Beste was the other new addition to face an Estoril Praia team that interrupted the sequence of games without losing in the previous round.
Despite this defeat, Ian Cathro's team arrived at Estádio da Luz uninhibited and showed what they were capable of. João Carvalho threatened Trubin's goal at 2' and set the tone for a shooting team, as the statistics at half-time proved – seven attempts for each side.
Benfica were quick to take control of the match, even without being overwhelming. Estoril managed to rehearse exits through the corridors, with Fabrício very active in the attack and in an attempt to aim at Trubin's goal, but only the misfortune of Pavlidis (18'), who hit the post, prevented the eagles managed to take an early lead.
Estoril no longer had the capacity to threaten Trubin's goal, even though they found spaces to try shots that weren't very dangerous, and Benfica ended up taking the lead naturally, taking advantage of a mistake by Zanocelo that Pavlidis (28') resolved with a placed shot. to Robles' goal. The Greek scored his first goal from outside the box as a Benfica striker.
After reaching equality and the virtual leadership of the Liga Portugal, Bruno Lage's team controlled the game with the ball, but without much inspiration to bother Robles' goal, who, it must be said, ended the first half without any noteworthy saves. , while Estoril once again tried to hit Trubin's goal between the posts, also without bothering the Ukrainian goalkeeper.
Estoril caused discomfort, Amdouni made it easier
Even without being particularly uncomfortable, Estoril showed signs of discomfort against a Benfica team that, despite having more ball and playing more often in the opponent's midfield, was not managing to control the match. The signs of uneasiness increased when a penalty was awarded to Fabrício by Tomás Araújo, which was reversed after appeal to VAR. The warning was clear, but insufficient to wake up a Benfica team that seemed to already have its mind set on other matches.
The game was open, but Ian Cathro's little risk – Lacximicant came on for Marqués – also did not serve as a threat to Benfica's advantage, who entered the best phase of the match at the decisive moment and ended up achieving calm, not without Pavlidis beforehand. (70') wasted another great chance in a privileged area, leaving the next moment for Amdouni to enter.
And, in his style, the Swiss needed little time to create an impact and score the third and fourth goals as a substitute used in the Portugal League (73' and 90'+4).
First by appearing in the right place to touch following a shot by Akturkoglu for an incomplete save by Joel Robles and then heading following a corner to confirm the triumph and, more importantly, the isolated leadership of the Liga Portugal.
Flashscore man of the match: Amdouni (Benfica)
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