Guimaraes 1- Benfica 3 - Cardoshow!

Tonight, Benfica achieved probably the most important win of the season so far by beating Guimaraes 3-1. Playing away, with second place up for grabs, Benfica was able to win the game much due to team efficiency and spirit of sacrifice.


In my preview, i had mentioned how it wasn't going to be an easy game, as Guimaraes has a very good team and had not lost at home yet this season.
Camacho returned to the 4-2-3-1 but with a variant that i hadn't seen this up to this point, and that variant was the high pressure. That high pressure allowed Benfica to, not only take the initiative, but also to not let Guimaraes establish their game flow.

Camacho fielded the following players:
Quim in goal; Luis Felipe, Edcarlos, David Luiz and Nelson on the left. Petit and Katsouranis in front of the defense. Rui Costa in the middle, Maxi and DiMaria on the flanks, right and left respectively. Cardozo was the lone striker.

Benfica started the game well, quick on the ball and pressuring high. Camacho, who had criticized the team for not carrying the tactical training onto the field, looked like he got through the players this time, and the team pressured Guimaraes early, not waiting for Guimaraes to bring the game to them. Both teams knew of the importance of the game, and Benfica did what needed to be done when the game is of elevated importance, they pressured and went looking for the goal. A goal that ended up coming within the first 10 minutes of the game, at the 8th minute precisely. A rocket free kick from Cardozo's left foot from about 25 yards out, which gave no chance to Guimaraes' keeper. Cardozo had taken at least 2 or 3 from that spot in previous games, and all were very close. This time he struck gold. Benfica continued their pressure and did not allow Guimaraes to touch the ball around, both Petit and Katsouranis were winning most of the balls in midfield, fruit of the pressure on the ball carrier. When Benfica got the ball they would try to go forward with speed. It was in one of those speedy transitions that Di Maria was able to escape his defender down the left side, after chasing a ball that was headed out of bounds, DiMaria was able to beat his defender and come into the box where he found Maxi who tapped the ball in for Benfica's second goal, 26 minutes had gone by. Benfica took advantage of the opportunities they created and that efficiency propelled the team into a better game controlling position. David Luiz got injured during the first half (midway i believe), and I'm trying to understand why it took so much time for Benfica's bench to make the change. Change which would eventually happen right before the half, with Assis coming into the game. Katsouranis dropped into the middle of the defense, while Maxi shifted over to the d-mid slot, giving Assis the right mid position.

Benfica went into the locker room feeling good about the first half, their pressuring efforts gave them a comfortable lead and playing away against a difficult adversary doesn't always afford you that luxury.

The second half would turn out to be a lot different, Guimaraes came out and took the reigns of the game. In the first 20 minutes, the Guimaraes men, gave their all to get back into the game, they were more dangerous, and had several flank incursions that could have brought a lot of danger to the Benfica goal. Guimaraes would eventually end up getting their goal right at the 60 minute mark from a dead ball situation, but weren't able to do much after that, perhaps running out of gas.
Benfica was able to manage the game defensively and put out the initial pressure Guimaraes had come out with.
Freddy Adu came in in the 76th minute for the exhausted DiMaria. Freddy came into the game with defense in mind, I'm sure he was told to defend first, as he played a lot more back than what he usually does, which affected his game. Nuno Gomes came in for Rui Costa in the 85th minute in another refreshing effort by Camacho. Cardozo put the icing on the cake in the dying minutes of the second half after the Guimaraes keeper came out to clear a ball that struck Cardozo's body and dropped right in front of his left foot which would direct the ball into an empty net.

Precious win for Benfica, first time beating a team in the top 6, inflicting the first home loss to Guimaraes, and coming away with a high morale from the win.
The player's efforts won this game, and while there's still a lot of improving the team needs to do, the win lifts off some of the pressure and gives the team a mental boost for the games to come.

Few praises

Cardozo - probably the best game i have seen him play with a Benfica jersey, and while the goals are important, what really impressed me, was his work rate and his playing, especially his aerial playing. Cardozo is on the rise, and there has been a significant improvement in his playing and how he plays the opposite defenders. He is slowly learning how to play by himself up front, not always an easy task.

DiMaria - Another best game with a Benfica jersey performance. His quickness is his biggest weapon, Di Maria seems to have a gear that very few have, and while some of that speed is still lacking some sync with his footwork, some of the displays today, especially the one he assisted Maxi, are a sign of what he can do. He still needs to do a lot of work to become better, but don't all 19 year olds?
- Maybe it was the jersey he played with, it read "DiMaira" -

(mental note - remember to check the spelling on the back of every jersey i buy at Estadio da Luz)

The team - The team had to reach down inside and find the motivation for this game, after withstanding criticism from all angles, because of their less than positive recent results, the team responded well to the challenge they had this week. A lot of sacrifice, a lot of teammates helping each other, clearly a team with a goal and determination to work hard to achieve that goal. Kudos! - let's hope that they can build on this.

Individually:

Quim - 7
Luis Felipe - 6 (5 in the first half 7 in the second)
Edcarlos - 6 (still has a lot of work to do to adapt to the Portuguese game)
David Luiz - 6 (i hope his ankle twist is not serious)
Nelson - 7
Petit - 7
Katsouranis - 7
Rui Costa - 7
Maxi - 7
DiMaria - 7
Cardozo - 8

Assis - 6
Adu - 5
Nuno Gomes - 5

Highlights

Sporting and Porto will play each other Sunday, points for grabs.