Benfica 3 - Academica 1 - Cardozo Double

Benfica goes forth in the Portuguese Cup with a 3-1 victory over Academica. In a game that on paper wasn't as easy as Sporting's and Porto, Benfica came out to win and despite fielding a revamped 11, Benfica did enough to control the game and to justify the end result

Camacho started the following players:
Butt in goal, Nelson, Luisao, Edcarlos and Leo in the back. Petit and Binya in front of the defense, DiMaria, Nuno Gomes and Assis in the midfield, with Nuno Gomes playing in the 9 slot. Cardozo repeated his start from tuesday.
Butt, as expected, started in goal, it is customary for the #2 keepers to get the start in cup games, and this was no different. In defense, i was suprised to see Edcarlos, it's a clear attempt from Camacho to keep Edcarlos in the fold, after all, David Luiz could have very well played, and was not one of the players that needed rest. Personally i would have kept the back four intact, as their consistency and gelling is built on the minutes they spend together, nonetheless, Edcarlos needs the playing time and needs to be rotated in order not to lose too much competitive rhythm. Binya and Petit played side by side and alternated their forward runs. I really couldn't make a strong evaluation on their (Binya and Petit) collective performance, but Bynia seemed at times out of synch, which is acceptable for his first time out with Petit. In the attacking third, I was surprised to not see Rui Costa, but at the same time glad that he got the rest. Di Maria proved once more that he is a lot more productive on the left wing, with a strong performance. Assis played on the right but was not as involved in the game as Di Maria. Nuno Gomes supported Cardozo upfront in detriment of Rui Costa and both Benfica's game and Nuno Gomes' game suffered from Rui Costa's absence. Benfica's for not having Rui Costa to assume complete control of Benfica's offensive game, and Nuno Gome's was affected for not having Rui Costa on the field. Nuno Gomes in the the position that he played in, is very different as to when Rui Costa plays in that position, and that is because of the distance that exists between the 2 other central midfielders and himself. Rui Costa comes back to Benfica's defensive midfield to build Benfica's game, which is not something Nuno Gomes is able to do. Nuno Gomes needs a true center midfielder, finding him in the spaces or on check backs, in order to be effective, without Rui Costa, Nuno Gomes struggled.

On to the game
Benfica started well, showing signs of wanting to resolve the game quickly, Edcarlos' header hit the post after a Di Maria corner, it was the first sign of danger from Benfica. Benfica continued to dominate wasting a few opportunities, one of them, with Nuno Gomes and Cardozo playing a never ending game of 1-2s, with Nuno Gomes forcing the last pass when he could have very well have gone to goal. Benfica's pressure and game domination, ended up bearing its fruits at the 40 minute mark when Luisao headed the ball into Academica's goal following an Assis corner. Benfica's goal was something that most people we expecting due to the offensive soccer the team was playing. Cardozo ended up sending the team to half time up two goals, after he scored his 8th goal for Benfica. A good combination play, that was initiated by Leo, when he came out of the defensive line to start a counter, which ultimately ended up with the same Leo making a superb pass to Cardozo, who in stride, beat the Academica goalie with a nice goal.
In the second half Benfica had to substitute in for Leo, after Leo was stretchered off from a head to head colision, Luis Felipe came into the left, it wasn't too long before Academica tried to assert themselves in the game, coming out strong and creating several opportunities. Academica's inital pressure ending up rewarding them, after a turnover by Benfica's transition, N'doye took his chance on a very long shot and would eventually beat Butt, who could have done a lot more with that shot. The goal gave Academica hope and their players started thinking if they continued pressuring they would eventually get the equalizer, Benfica was having problems taking control of the midfield, and that was making the team look a bit nervous. At the 75 minute, Camacho substituted Di Maria for Adu, in an attempt to refresh the left side, The first time Adu touched the ball he almost scored on a low shot that passed inches from the goalpost. Cardozo added to his tally in the 86 minute after persistent play from Benfica, with Assis "fetching" a ball close to the corner flag, to pass back to Nuno Gomes, who served Cardozo's header to perfection. The goal would finally put the team and the fans at ease. The final whistle sounded, but not before Mantorras had a chance to make an appearance, subbing in for the much cheered Cardozo.

Good win for Benfica in many expects, the obvious one is the advancing to the next round, the other ones are the resting of important players and giving time to players who need to be in the rotation. Rui Costa, Maxi and Katsouranis had a well deserved rest, and it'll be 12 rest days before they are in action again. Edcarlos, Binya and Assis, are players that need to rotate into the starting 11 as they can be called on at any time and need to keep somewhat of a competitive rhythm. Leo seems to be fine, he suffered a mild concussion and left the stadium in his own car but as a passenger, i'm sure he'll be better observed tomorrow. Just one last thought to conclude, i think Adu could have done a lot better than Nuno Gomes, not only does he play the nine position better, he can also play in the 10 slot, as he possesses good technique and is very quick. I await patiently for Adu's start in his natural position, i'm sure the wait will be well worth it as he is definitely being groomed for that spot by Camacho.

Highlights