Braga 2 v Benfica 1

Golf balls and off the bench refereeing decisions,

Benfica have lost their first match in a long while, it came at the hands of SC Braga and at a time when Benfica needed the three points to keep the pressure on FC Porto.

From the off Benfica seemed a team capable of getting a good result, but Braga had other intentions, throwing it all at Benfica.

On the 24th minute Saviola made it 1-0 when a free kick from Carlos Martins was badly handed by Artur, Saviola pounced to score.

The key moment for Braga’s game came on the 40th minute, when Javi Garcia was sent off after Alan fell to the floor claiming to have been punched in the throat, and with the Braga bench and officials all in agreement (and probably one made before the game) saw the red card routinely raised by Xistra. The resulting free kick from the side line saw Hugo Viana lob Roberto whom was way off his line.

The crowd egged on by the stadium announcer lost all control, and on a dry night, it seemed to rain golf balls and coins, many hitting Benfica players.

Benfica took to the pitch in the second half, with Saviola coming off and Airton coming in.

It seemed most attacks created Benfica just could not find the opening needed.

When the chances finally came, Cardozo and Coentrao were the two players who danced in front of goal but failed to convert.

Mossoro then ended Benfica’s night with a sweet right footer that again went over Roberto to make it 2-1.

In a finally summary: The game was played from the bench onwards, Braga had all intentions to get a result here, and pretty obvious from the crowd’s handling of Golf Balls, bad refereeing and play acting.. With Benfica also having a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside.

SC Braga v SL Benfica match review

Benfica take on Braga today in week 22 of the Liga ZON Sagres.

With FC Porto opening up a whooping eleven point gap having beaten Vitoria Guimaraes on Saturday night, the pressure is on Benfica to get all 3 points against an inform Europa League Braga team.

Jorge Jesus has called up 20 players to travel north for the game. With Pablo Aimar injured and Nico Gaitan not looking at his best physically, Jesus has brought in Cesar Peixoto, Airton and Jose Fernandez to cover all fronts.

The manager claims there are no pressures to get all three points, but at the same time he has made sure that all players in the squad are at their peak in terms of fitness and mental awareness.
With all said, Jesus should gamble on the full eleven that started the match Vs Sporting in the midweek cup victory.
On the Braga front, the team is doing well in Europe but seem to be struggling in the domestic league, placed a lowly 8th compared to last season’s second place, and with a game against Liverpool midweek, they might focus on their strengths.