Benfica 1 - porto 0 - Just Winners

If in my review of the Olhanense game, i had expressed some resignation in regards to the sense of fear that was being created ahead of this game by some of the fans, the team turned out to(once again) prove that there is nothing fake or misleading about this team.

Those who doubted, and feared the worst for this team, who was going into this game orphan of some key players, must be rejoicing this win. Rest assure, as i have written here before, this team is for real. We should fear no one, especially in our stadium. This tight group held together by their belief in success, enchanted by JJ's ideals and visions, and carried by its fan base to imaginable levels of conviction, know fully well what is within their grasp and what they can achieve.

# Photo Getty



Lot's of tension and speculation preceded the game, with DiMaria and Coentrao being suspended, Amorim and Sidnei hurt, Aimar and Ramires doubtful, the 11 that JJ was going to field was anyone's guess, but once again, the depth of our squad this year allowed JJ to put together a more than competitive team.

Quim in goal. Maxi, Luisao, David Luiz, and Peixoto as the usual back 4. Garcia, Martins, Ramires, and the debutant Urreta made up the midfield quartet. Saviola and Cardozo, rounded out JJ's chosen 11.

I have never doubted the worth of Urreta, i think he is a young player with a huge amount of talent, it's too bad he hasn't gotten any playing time this season. Part of it because both DiMaria and Coentrao are well ahead of him, part because his participation int he U20 World Cup put him at a disadvantage, when it came time to compete against the aforementioned two. But given the chance, I think he can respond well. JJ's choice to put him on at left mid, didn't entirely surprise me, but i have to admit he wasn't the first option in my mind, much because of his lack of competitive rhythm, nonetheless, JJ took the calculated gamble.

Martin's inclusion can't be considered a surprise either, despite coming off a considerable lay off due to injury, he had already played against AEK on thursday.
Martins is a player that knows very well the ins and out of a game like this. JJ knew he couldn't count on him for the full 90, but his experience and knowledge of this type games was definitely a plus over the other choice - Felipe Menezes.

Ramires recuperated in time to start, Aimar didn't, and didn't even make it to the bench.

On to the game....

The game started under steady rain, which had started falling an hour before the game. The field had seen better days, especially in the central corridor, and it all indicated to a hard fought game, with the field being a huge factor to each teams playing style.
Porto started better, but quickly ran into an organized Benfica, with high pressure lines and numbers around the ball carrier. With porto's midfield having very little time to organize, Benfica's defense and second ball gatherers, quickly tilted the game in their favor and pretty much took over the game.
Benfica's midfield was able to come out on transition, and despite the rapidly deteriorating pitch, Benfica was able to find progression by the means of their usual combination, between the front line and the transitioning midfielders.
Without Aimar, it was Ramires and Martins who alternated assuming the build up, while Urreta in a classic winger position, often took the ball deep into the final third.
porto on the other hand, looked like a team lost, and without solutions to organize, or put any type of consequent play together. Benfica's defense stopped play at midfield, and Benfica spent more time in porto's half. The control and the ease of build up eventually ended up opening up the final third for Benfica, and Benfica was able to start reaching the porto area with danger. It was on one of those incursions that Benfica benefited from their clearest chance. Martins chipped the ball over the defense, Urreta on a diagonal run back heeled into the limit of the keepers box, the porto men were able to control the trajectory of the ball, but Cardozo showed up to hit it, his shot found a porto defender, and porto cleared Benfica's clearest chance up until that point.
What followed was a play that caught the porto defense ball watching, David Luiz was able to win a 50/50 ball following the porto clearance, his interception ended up going deep into the porto defense, where Saviola appeared surprising everyone and did not miss, putting Benfica ahead.
22 minutes in, and Benfica saw themselves up 1-0. The way the game was going justified the goal, and Benfica deserved it. Up until that point it had been all Benfica, and porto limited themselves to defend, and trying to figure ways to come out of their half.
But it wasn't just up until that point that Benfica dominated, the domination continued until the end of the half. The possession percentage at the half 59/41 favoring Benfica, and porto had yet to make Quim make a real save.

For the second half, it was expected that porto would come out more attacking, and they did, but Benfica always seemed in control, and despite not having the initiative the first 15 or so minutes, of the second half, the team never looked in trouble from the porto offensive.
Despite 1 long range shot from Pereira, to which Quim responded well(his first real save) and a deflected shot that sent Quim one way and the ball close to the post, porto didn't do much else. JJ made his first substitutions at the 67th minute when he pulled both Martins and Urreta, who were both exhausted, Weldon and Luis Felipe took their places.
Following the initial pressure from porto, Benfica subdued porto's attack, and was once again in control of the game despite not really having clear chances. Benfica played a smart defensive game in the second half, and little by little took some of the air of porto's balloon, and headed into the final 15 minutes in full control of the game. JJ put in Menezes for the massacred Ramires, who once again had to come out, victim of a hard tackle. Ramires was clearly the most fouled player in this game. the final whistle came and Benfica came away with the deserved 3 points, Deserved for what they did in the first half, and for the smart, non allowing game they had in the second.

An obvious penalty was missed by the referee from a handball in the box by Rodriguez, but the non-call fortunately ended up not influencing the result.

With the win, Benfica once again joins Braga on top of the leader board while opening up a 4 point gap to porto, who will continue in third.

I can't say enough about the team and their attitude, the same goes to JJ and the tactics he put in place for this game. He hit the nail on the head with his game plan.

The result ends up being a logical one, as Benfica has shown all season that they have been the better team. Despite being short a couple key figures, the subs showed themselves up to the challenge, and the team showed once again that it's more than just the starting 11. It's that kind of depth that will make us a strong contender for the title.
There's still a lot of games to be played, but this result, and being atop of the standings at this point in time is a step in the right direction.

A much deserved rest awaits the team, let's hope that we can get the squad again at 100% as January will prove vital towards title aspirations.