Stall in Braga

Benfica lost 2 points to leaders Porto this past Saturday tying in Braga in a lackluster performance. Camacho started: Quim in goal; Luis Filipe, Katsouranis, Edcarlos andLeo composed the defense; Binya, Rui Costa in the middle, with Binya in a more defensive/work horse role and Maxi and Rodriguez on the wings; Di Maria roamed free in a supporting role to Nuno Gomes. Cardozo sat out, after end of the week criticism( incentive in disguise)from Camacho's part. I thought Camacho's choice was the right one as Nuno Gomes is in a clear rise of form while Cardozo has hit somewhat of a standstill and has begun to raise questions by the Benfica faithful as to whether he is worth the 9 mil Benfica spent on him. I liked Binya's performance, i hadn't seen this player in action yet, and he surprised me with his work rate as well as his simple football . Rui Costa seemed to show tiredeness, maybe from the Pharyngitis that affected him mid-week that forced him out of practice, nonetheless at 35 he continues to be the driving force behind the team but one can't expect him to play week in week out without some kind of a breakdown. Other notables; Quim with a couple of game saving saves, he is for me, the best portuguese keeper and i think Scolari should give him a chance. The save from Linz's header was out of this world. Katsouranis remains very stable and solid in the back, Ecarlos is quickly getting used to the Portuguese game, showing a no nonsense style of playing. Maxi didn't have all that great of a game, maybe troubled by the head butt he suffered in the first half, and the worry that such cut on a bald head does not appeal to the ladies. Rodrigues, fought and played well, from his feet came the biggest Benfica chance, he took a shot inside the box from a tight angle that Braga's keeper made a good save.. but i wonder if he could have done better with it, maybe a lateral pass to Nuno Gomes.. Di Maria had a discreet performance as well as Nuno Gomes. I can't understand how Benfica can not make a cross that goes to a challenge area, all crosses seem to be going over the center forward beyond the second post or short, i lost count of how many crosses were just long or short.. and it's hard to put it in someone's head every time, but at least put it in an area where a player can challenge a ball... Horrible second half by Benfica, with Braga clearly showing signs of tiredness from having played on thursday, Benfica failed to capitalize, not to mention the horrible substitutions Camacho made Nuno Assis for Di Maria and Cardozo for Nuno Gomes. Why not Cardozo for Maxi? Nuno Gomes drops to Di Maria's position and Di Maria goes to the right.. I didn't understand the Di Maria substitution being that he is a player that is very strong on the one on one and at anytime he could create danger, That one was just beyond me. In a game that was not supposed to be easy, Benfica came out with 1 point, Benfica fans can't consider themselves happy, because these are the games where you establish your favoritism and your place in the league. As far as the refereeing.. unbelievable call on Binya's clean heel tackle that earned him a foul and a subsequent yellow card, a foul, which i might add, was called a good 5 seconds after the play. For all Benfica Fans this was somewhat of a let down, having won the past 2 league games by 3 goals and thinking the team is starting to gain momentum, this was somewhat of a reminder how much work Camacho still has to do not to mention the players that are hurt that are important to the team, Luisao, Petit. Benfica Plays mid-week against Estrela da Amadora for the league cup then plays Sporting at home, in a game that is very important not to loose points.
Porto showed why they are in first place with a hard fought win away at Pacos de Ferreira, these are the games that count at the end of the league.

Sporting tied at home against Vitoria de Setubal, a team that has not lost yet in the Bwin, Sporting was down twice, but managed to tie 5 minutes from the final whistle, the second goal for Vitoria seemed like a "frango" from the Sporting Serbian keeper Stojjkovic, from the replay it looked like the ball took an irregular hop on the worst field in the Bwin presently.

Loose ones:

- Benfica has not lost in 26 games in the portuguese BWin.
- Benfica has not given up goals in 4 games for the Bwin.
- Binya was on his way to Estrela on loan, Camacho stopped the move and kept him in the squad..