Filipe Martins had warned him well. Prometheus a Casa Pia with the “same DNA” and so he did. His team, which was barely playing its second match in the Primeira Liga 83 years later, gave the eagles several headaches, especially in the first half. Many men behind the ball line, it is true, but an impeccable defensive cohesion is capable of at least shaking all the embodied certainties.
The match was not easy for Roger Schmidt. In the first part, the only play in which the waters were about to score was played by Gonçalo Ramos, where Casa Pia gave center João Nunes the seize the goal line. Still, there was time and space for Godwin to do his thing. The speed down the left flank caused some surprises throughout the direct duel with Gilberto (something that the German coach himself would “point out”), but none of the opportunities ended in a goal.
The Eagles coach dictated the course of the entire game with the substitutions he made at halftime. Alexander Bah brought another perfume to the red right back and managed to completely change Benfica’s game. A more vertical Benfica, with greater skill on the wings, more daring and enlightened, like the one we saw at the beginning of the second half, led to the first and only goal of the match: after an assist from Rafa, Gonçalo Ramos, with a lot of class, deflected to goal with the toe of the boot (57 ‘).
#CPACSLB | 0-1 | ⚽ 58′ GOOOOOOOOOOO! G. RAMOS!!!! #EuAmoOBenfica #ligaportugalbwin #EASPORTSFIFA pic.twitter.com/z85oxE9lBM
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) August 13, 2022
Casa Pia tried to change the paradigm after conceding a goal but without being able to go beyond a few attacks. Benfica tried to extend the advantage, mainly from outside the area, but without success. The possession of the ball and the advantage were on the side of the reds and the end of the match was practically sentenced. Still, there was time for a bummer on the visitors: Otamendi was expelled with the second yellow even when the curtain fell for a foul on Clayton (94 ‘).
The final moments in numerical advantage still gave Casa Pia an apparent respite but the truth is that the result would not affect even the Municipal Stadium of Leiria. Benfica thus wins the second round of the Championship and continues its journey without knowing the taste of defeat at this start, the result of a hard-fought victory based on the change of “chip” of the second part.
Source: Observadora
