Celtic 1 - Benfica 0 Matchday 4

Down, but not Out

Benfica comes away from Celtic Park with no points and puts at risk their qualifications to the Champions League second round as well as a possible UEFA Cup Entry.
Camacho starting the following 11:
Quim in goal. Luis Felipe, Luisao,Edcarlos and Leo on defense. Binya andKasouranis as the 2 defensive midfielders. Maxi,Rui Costa andRodriguez in the midfield and Cardozo as the lone striker. I want to just analyze these starting 11 for a sec. Some of you might wonder why Di Maria didn't start or even Nuno Assis in the midfield, and the answer is simple - taking into consideration that Benfica was playing at Celtic Park, and that Celtic would come out hard with their fans behind them, Camacho decided to field a more defensive team. The usage of Binya and Kasouranis as the 2 defensive mids is a clear sign that Camacho wanted to have more numbers in the midfield, increasing his chances of being able to control the middle of the park, and subsequently Celtic's initial pressure. With 2 defensive mids, Rui Costa becomes a player with 2 assignments - play maker and attacker, being that Rodriguez is an attack minded player by nature, it would only make sense that Maxi would be in there as another defensive minded player. Yes, theoretically Di Maria or Assis could have provided an extra offensive spark, but you would lose the balance you are trying to create with numbers in the midfield. Keep in mind that this is just the thinking part before the game. It's very easy to point fingers after the game, and say that it was the wrong choice and this and that. The point is, playing away in a difficult stadium by nature, and playing against a team that you know is going to come at you. It makes sense to go with more of a defensively balanced minded tactic.
Benfica did have very clear opportunities in the first half, with Cardozo showing some of his goal scoring capabilities. Why is it we can't have the same Cardozo in the Bwin? Benfica had a good half and the 0-0 result at the end of the half seemed fair, but it wasn't to be. Benfica suffered a goal in the dying minutes of the half, a goal that somewhat conditioned the team's behaviour, up until this time, the team felt that they were working hard, and that the goal would inevitably come. All of sudden they see themselves down by 1, and go into the locker room thinking how they will turn this one around . Second half saw Benfica come out strong again and cause some danger to the Celtic defense, but without seeing a goal. Camacho made one substitution at the hour mark. Di maria substituted Maxi, wasn't playing all that well, in hopes of being able to penetrate the Celtic defense. Di Maria did bring some more offensive power but didn't make much of a difference on the score board. At the 77 minute mark, Camacho made is last 2 subs simultaneously - Nuno Gomes for Cardozo, Bergessio for Rui Costa. This double substitution baffled me. Rui Costa was in control of Benfica's midfield and seemed to be one of the few still capable of making a difference. I didn't see the logic, not to mention, that Bergessio was the player chosen to substitute him. I think it would have made more sense if Adu had been the chosen player. Not only does Freddy play in a very similar position he has also been Benfica's talisman in the last few games. Why not Adu? The choice to bring Nuno Gomes on, was the correct one, but shouldn't you add another forward if you are looking to score? In the 88th minute, probably one of the worst actions i've seen a Benfica player ever have, Binya committed an act of "attempted injury", he flat out went in the play to hurt the Celtic player. He got the direct red as a result.
I'm sorry but i can't tolerate such action as a Benfica fan, Benfica MUST penalize this player.
The game would finish with the score 1-0 and Benfica felt they could have come out of Celtic Park with better result. Dubious last 2 substitutions and our lack of effectiveness in regards to the chances we had, were, i'm opinion, the most obvious negatives of this game. As far as positives - Quim, kept the game close with a couple world class saves. The way the team handled the atmosphere at Celtic Park and how they were able to silence the crowd at times.
I know that's very easy to say - oh this guy sucks, and the team sucks and they are not worth garbage, but that won't get us anywhere. The team is what it, and we have to think how we can make a better team with what we have? Surely some players will be on the way out of the roster, the secret is how will Benfica make improvements to the team?

So now, with a difficult game against Milan at home and a hard away game in the Ukraine, it becomes a time to ring the alarm, not only for the second round but also for the UEFA cup also.
Last place with 3 points while Shakthar and Celtic have 6 points and a Milan that seem to be destined to win the group. Seems difficult, but we continue to have control of our future.
I'm going to look at the probabilities for Benfica and what needs to happen in a future post.

Saudacoes Benfiquistas