Porto took on rivals Benfica at the Estadio do Dragao this Friday night on a highly anticipated Primeira Liga match.
The two biggest clubs in Portugal faced each other as they battled to secure the second place in the league. In fact, whoever won would get one step closer from Primeira Liga leaders Sporting. Porto attempted to break a new record as they had never won five ‘Classicos’ in a row before. On the other hand, Benfica tried to break the negative spell against their rivals after losing the Super Cup in December.
The game started out quite better than expected, as recent fixtures between the classic rivals have been quite tactical and with few goals. Although both teams had their chances, a master assist from Seferovic led Benfica’s left-back Grimaldo to put the ball in the back of the net. In fact, Grimaldo started the game playing as a winger since manager Jesus decided to play with Nuno Tavares out in the back to prevent Corona’s advances on the wing.
Nevertheless, it didn’t take long for Porto to strike back. The current champions slaughtered Gilberto in the right-back tonight. Therefore, the goal just had to come from that side of the pitch. Corona received a perfect long ball from Diaz and assisted Taremi’s seventh goal in the league. The ball still suffered a slight deflection from Marega. However, the player was in a legal position since Gilberto was left behind on the pitch.
Porto and Benfica played a very intense match.
The game was a typical ‘Classico’, meaning that the referee didn’t have an easy task. The players got themselves involved in some heated arguments throughout the game, receiving eight yellow cards. In fact, one of them could’ve easily resulted in a red card as Pizzi shoved Pepe into the ground. In fact, Pepe himself told the press Pizzi should’ve gotten the red card at the end of the match.
However, it was only at the 73rd minute that a player got sent-off. Porto’s goalscorer Taremi made a reckless tackle on Otamendi and hit the player’s leg with his studs.
At the end of it all, both teams missed the chance to increase the pressure on the league’s leader. Sporting remains at the top of Primeira Liga, which they haven’t won since 2002. In fact, Porto and Benfica may get some added pressure themselves as Braga is yet to play this round.
Player ratings
Porto: Marchesin (7), Nanu (5), Pepe (6), Mbemba (6), Zaidu (6), Diaz (7), Oliveira (7), Uribe (6), Corona (7), Taremi (6), Marega (6).
Bench: Mario (5), Leite (5), Evanilson (4), Grujic (N/A).
Benfica: Vlachodimos (7), Gilberto (5), Otamendi (5), Vertonghen (6), Tavares (6), Weigl (7), Pizzi (6), Grimaldo (7), Rafa (7), Seferovic (7), Nunez (6).
Bench: Chiquinho (5), Everton (6), Waldschmidt (4).
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