Benfica 2 - Setubal 2 - Gifts for all tastes

With an opportunity to ascend to first place, Benfica couldn't do more than a 2 all tie against Setubal at home. After turning around a 0-1 result, Benfica was once again too complacent and too giving for a team with title ambitions.

It's only the first of December but it seems that Christmas has arrived early at Estadio da Luz. Gifts and more gifts fell from the sky, whether it was the gift of an incredible miss to an opposing keeper, the gift of the crossbar that kept ball out of the net, the gift of advantage only to be taken back by the Grinch in the middle when the end result didn't turn out to be the "desired one", or in that same gesture the gift of forgiveness to a second yellow to a barbaric tackle from behind. Add the two gifts from Quim, and Benfica's consent of Setubal's equalizer and we are one short of lighting up the Menorah and celebrate the Jewish tradition of Hanukkah.(No offense)

Quique changed things again, and started the following 11 - Quim in goal. Maxi, Miguel Vitor, Sidnei and Ribeiro in the back. Katsouranis and Martins in the middle, Amorim and Reyes in the flanks. Up front Suazo and Cardozo.
In my preview I had anticipated David Luiz to be in the middle with Sidnei, to build up on the competitive rhythm, but Quique felt that Miguel Vitor added more consistency and was more of a safe bet next to Sidnei. In the midfield, the surprise was the exclusion of Yebda. The Frenchman, seemed a permanent fixture in Quique's 11s and had previously only started 1 game on the bench by option(Hertha). Martins assumed the transition role while Katsouranis, who celebrated his 100th game with a Benfica shirt and donned the captains armband, was clearly the more defensive midfield unit. No surprises on the flanks and up front.

Benfica started the game well, not in an overwhelming dominating manner but well. Chances were created and chances were missed, incredible one's if i might add. The most vivid one in my mind is an incredible header miss by Suazo, the kind we see Nuno Gomes miss so many times. What was clearly an intention of Quique to gain more of the possession of the ball with more technical players in the midfield, was not always the case as defensively that idea seemed to falter and allow Setubal their spaces in the middle. That space in the middle proved fatal as a Setubal man showed up on the right side of the box after a through ball from the Setubal midfield, a strong, low shot, was not defended well by Quim who put the rebound right on the feet of an oncoming Setubal player, who tapped it in to give the visitors the lead in the 35th minute.
Benfica didn't take too long to react and Amorim slammed the crossbar on a shot, that despite being right at the entrance of the box, could have been finished a lot better. The teams went into the locker room, but Benfica's last 10 minutes gave the impression that Benfica would still be able to do a lot more in the next 45 minutes.

The second half started and Benfica came out firing on all cylinders. Quick and determined Benfica would level the score 3 minutes into the half by Katsouranis, who after serving Suazo, took advantage of Suazo's shank to put the ball past the Setubal keeper.
Benfica would go on top 11 minutes later, when after good combination play in Benfica's left side, Cardozo served Suazo at the top pf the box, this time the Honduran fired a well placed hard shot that found the back of the net. It was the corollary of 15 minutes of very good playing quality by Benfica.
The players came out of the locker room knowing very well what they had to do, and in 15 minutes were able to get there. What happened next is what has happened too many times this season, as Benfica has a hard time managing leads and putting the game away, either by playing a possession type of football or putting the score out of reach.
The Benfica from the first half vanished and the midfield was losing control of the game. It surprised me how slow Quique was in making the necessary adjustments, bringing in Yebda for Martins in the 76th minute, in an attempt to refresh and get control of the midfield and Urreta for Cardozo in the 81st minute, to gain more mobility up front.
What happened around in the 80th minute has to be one of the most bizzarre things i have witnessed. Reyes is violently fouled from behind, the ball ends up with Ribeiro, and the referee waves play on, Ribeiro wins the line crosses and Suazo scores, the referee blows his whistle while Ribeiro crosses deciding to bring back the ball to the spot of the initial foul, which by the way wasn't even sanctioned with the deserving yellow card(which would have been the second one for the Setubal man. The call turned out to be an offside on Ribeiro.

You be the judge
Notice the play on by the referee, after the brutal tackle.

Quique used his last substitution in the 85th minute, when he brought on Luiz for Ribeiro, who apparently suffered an injury, and ended up leaving the stadium on crutches.
Benfica's complacency and passiveness ended up burning them in the added time period
as Setubal leveled the game after as Quim added the star to the top of the tree. The play is too odd to explain. A lobbed bicycle kick from the edge of the box, hit high and close to the crossbar, Quim has trouble deciding what to do with it, his indecision cost Benfica the 3 points and first place. Surely the blame can't all go on Quim, although at this point it's time to find out what is going on with him, and perhaps open the door to Moreira.

A wasted opportunity for Benfica in a game that brings back memories of last year. While this year has followed its own successful path and is nowhere similar to last year, some of the moments that i have witnessed recently are starting to bring out the skeptic in me, which up until this point was fully confident of the ability of this team and convinced that the end result will be a much different one from last year.
There's a lot of players injured, but the team attitude and effort should be the same throughout the squad, why the team shut down after their second goal is beyond me. Not only did we miss an opportunity to be first, but we also gave 2 points away to Sporting and porto.
Up next is a very tough trip to Madeira to face Maritimo, followed by an away Portuguese Cup game against Leixoes.