Academica 1 - Benfica 3

Benfica got a very important and precious win this Saturday, a win that on paper seemed like a sure thing, but there are no sure things in football. Camacho could not count on Rodriguez and Maxi, both players played for their national team mid-week and were not in their best conditions to play. Rodriguez suffered from an intestinal disposition and Camacho opted to not call the 2 Uruguayan internationals, who usually start, perhaps in anticipation for Wednesday's match against Milan. Camacho also tried to save Cardozo, as he was coming from an injury and is badly needed for Wednesday's match.
So, with these two factors in mind Camacho fielded the following 11:
Quim in goal, Luis Felipe, Luisao, David Luiz and Leo in defense. David Luiz made his return to the line up, and what a return it was, clearly the best performer of the back 4, in my opinion. The midfield was composed of 2 defensive mids in Binya and Katsouranis to balance out the 3 offensive minded midfielders - Assis, Di Maria and Rui Costa. Nuno Gomes was the lone forward playing in a position where he could combine with the 3 attacking mids.


A Strong Start that hit a wall at the 10 minute mark

Benfica started well, touching the ball quickly and taking control of the game, but it was short lived, as Assis had to come out at the 10 minute mark. Assis suffered a hit on his shin after a hard challenge from an Academica player and had to come off. With Assis' injury, Camacho decided to put Cardozo in the game, perhaps feeling Benfica's dominance and attacking flow, Cardozo's entrance would hopefully create more chances and Benfica could put the game away quickly and rest players for Wednesday, this was probably what went through his mind. There's logic to that thought, however, taking Rui Costa out of the middle and making him play on the right is losing control of the midfield from an offensive stand point. Rui Costa plugged the hole on the right, but the move changed the complexion of Benfica's game, as Benfica lost their creative force and their playmaker in the midfield. I wonder why it took Camacho 50mins to realize this? With the loss of Rui Costa in the middle Academica stepped up and took initiative of the game, taking advantage of the lack of transition game by Benfica. Academica's rise payed off at the 24 minute mark, when Lito took advantage of a poor Benfica clearance, following a freekick, to beat Quim. Benfica didn't take long to respond and 10 minutes later Rui Costa fired a well placed freekick past the Academica keeper, following a foul on Di Maria at the edge of the box. Di Maria, who was at the time the player that created the most danger for Benfica, with Rui Costa missing from the middle, Benfica depended on Di Maria's quickness to create attacking opportunitities (the left footed blast that almost took down the crossbar). Half time came and Benfica went into the locker room with the game tied but needing to make serious adjustments if they wanted to win the game. Second half started and there wasn't much changed from the Benfica of the first half, so at the hour mark, Camacho substituted Petit for Katsouranis, in an effort to give more "fight" to the midfield in hopes Benfica could regain control of the midfield. At the 63 min mark, Camacho brought in Adu for Nuno Gomes and returned Rui Costa to his familiar playmaking role. It wasn't long before the change could be noticed and Benfica took control of the game and pushed Academica back into their own half, with Rui Costa at the helm Academica put men behind the ball in hopes they could come away with a valuable point, it wasn't to be. Benfica's persistence and fighting spirit ended up paying off on the 86th minute, when following a corner, the Academica keeper mis-timed his challenge on a high cross and the ball ended up at Luisao's feet, with his back turned to goal, the "Red Giant" back heeled the ball past the recovering keeper. It was a just prize to Benfica's rise in play and persistence. Freddy Adu would put the icing on the cake 7 minutes later with a low hard shot that was partially saved by the keeper and hit the post and back spun into the net.

So, without starters Maxi and Rodriguez, a forced substitution 10 minutes in, that forced Camacho to alter his game plan, then going 1-0, you can say that this was a precious victory.
This victory allows Benfica to head into Wednesday's crucial game against Milan with a high team morale and high hopes of obtaining a good result. The win also puts pressure on Porto, who will face Setubal this Sunday, in a game that will pit two teams who have not yet lost domestically.

Loose ones:
Good performance by Di Maria rising up to the opportunity, he is clearly more effective on the left, although he did periodically disappear. Best performance by Luis Felipe i've seen all year, clearly an improvement. It was nice to see David Luiz back, he is our starter, there are no doubts about it. Also good to see Petit back, i'm hoping he hits game shape soon, we need him. I still can't understand why Freddy isn't given more of a starting role, Benfica would have gained much more if he had come in for Assis.

Looking out, Sporting tied Leixoes and now trail Benfica by 6 points.
Game highlights


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Foto - Isabel Cutileiro