Benfica concede three in second half, lose 3-1 to English side | OneFootball

The Benfica women’s team had another warm-up test for the new season, this time against London City Lionesses, in Seixal. In a match played behind closed doors and at a good tempo, the English side ended up winning 3-1.

Without Ana Borges and Andreia Norton, who remain sidelined due to physical issues, Benfica lined up Lena Pauels in goal, alongside Catarina Amado, Tinkara Testen, Carolina Simões, Marit Lund, Pauleta, Beatriz Cameirão, Caroline Møller, Lúcia Alves, Nycole Raysla and Frøya Dorsin. For the visitors, the main highlight was the presence of Alexia Putellas and Mapi León in the starting XI.

The first half was very evenly balanced, despite some edge for the English side. Both teams managed to create dangerous chances, but neither was clinical enough to open the scoring, sending the match into half-time goalless.

The goals came after the break. Janni Thomsen put the London side ahead, but Ziqin Shao replied for Benfica and restored parity. The visitors regained the lead through Freya Godfrey and then sealed the final 3-1 scoreline through Rosa Kafaji.

In the second half, Benfica’s coaching staff took the opportunity to test several options, bringing on Carolina Tristão, Chandra Davidson, Clarinha, Diana Gomes, Ariana Schafer, Madalena Loução and Flourish Sabastine. At the end, there was also a penalty shootout, with Lena Pauels standing out by saving two attempts, in a drill that also included two saves from the opposing goalkeeper.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.