Benfica 5 - Penafiel 3 (pks) - Portuguese Cup Review

Benfica squeaks by to the next round of the Portuguese Cup by defeating Penafiel in the penalty shootout.
I am not going to extend myself in commenting the game, as i thought the game was an absolute bore fest.
It's also unfair to apply the same criticism you usually see here to the team that Quique fielded on Sunday night.


Moreira in goal. Miguel Vitor, Luisao, Sidnei and Leo made up the back four. In the midfield it was Binya and Amorim in the middle while the flanks belonged to Balboa and Urreta. Up front Makukula was supported by DiMaria.


It was no secret that Quique was going to give playing time to players who haven't gotten much up until this point. It was also no secret that Quique proclaimed his confidence in the players that were going to start, whoever they might be. From a players perspective, this was a great chance to show Quique that they can be worthy options off the bench, and not just numbers to make up inter-squad scrimmages. Despite all of this, there were still players that managed to either confirm what Quique already knew or to see their stock move.

Here's a quick look at what they did.

Moreira - Not only did he confirm that he is a great back up for Quim, he also proved to be able to fight for the position, perhaps the only bright spot of the night, when it came to the players who were getting chances.

Miguel Vitor - It was his second straight game playing at right back, and while his defending didn't leave him in a bad position, it was his attacking that lacked. Off course Vitor is a center back, and center backs don't usually come up field into the attack. To judge Vitor when he is playing out of position is unfair, the truth is, while Vitor can be a short term solution for the right back position, he isn't by any means an alternative to Maxi. Off course Maxi also has his own shortcomings, and Benfica needs to hit the winter market looking for a right back.

Leo - Apart from witnessing a miserable game from Benfica, what saddened me the most was watching Leo. Not by his performance, but for what has happened to Leo as a player. Sunday's Leo was almost unrecognizable, he seemed to have lost the happiness that playing brought him, he looked restrained and was an average player. His relegation to the bench has been explained by Quique, as Leo's inability to play in Quique's system of a line defense. I understand that yesterday he tried his best to show Quique that he can play in that system, but what a difference for the worst.

Binya - It's been quite a while since i had seen Binya in action in official games. He has shown very little progress as a player. Excellent recuperating balls, when he wasn't being overly aggressive, terrible when it came time to build. Binya is also a target of biased refereeing, he will always see a yellow quicker than anyone else on the field, there's absolutely no slack on his rope, and it's unfair to see referees not judge Binya by the same standards as other players.

Ruben Amorim - All of Amorim's appearances have been on the right side of the midfield. He returned to his natural position in the midfield but was unable to conduct Benfica's game from his transition role. I've seen him have better games out of his natural position.

Balboa - Quickly becoming the flop of the season. 4 million is what Balboa cost Benfica, so far he has yet to show 500k. You'd think in games like this, against a weaker team, a player like Balboa would come out and shine, but that is not the case, and on Sunday he once again showed why he's 3rd choice for the right side of the midfield.

Urreta - Urreta is probably the only player that showed decline since the pre-season. Between him and Balboa i couldn't really decide which one was the worst. He got an important chance on Sunday night, but was unable to take advantage of it, and justified why he is currently being left out of game rosters.

Makukula - There's no arguing that there's plenty of fire and motivation there, but technically, Makukula still shows great deficiencies. Perhaps a little bit more playing time could change some of the awkwardness of movements Makukula shows. At the time the UEFA roster list was submitted, Makukula's future was uncertain, as Benfica received some interest from other clubs, and that is the reason why Makukula was not signed in the UEFA. He will continue to work hard, and his performance on Sunday was positive one.

Not much to be said about anyone else. These were the players that were given a great opportunity but came up short with the exception of Moreira, and perhaps Makukula, depending how you look at it. Suazo, Reyes and Katsouranis got some minutes also in the second half, trying to change the course of events, and did bring some change, but the path had already been dug in.

Too bad that these players couldn't take advantage of the opportunity, I'm sure Quique will re-think his approach to playing time in the next cup game.
This Wednesday Benfica will find out who their next adversary is for the Portuguese Cup.


Photo - slbenfica.pt