Benfica held to a draw by Sporting, lose grip on league lead | OneFootball

On the morning of Saturday, January 10, the under-15 team of Benfica traveled to Sporting’s ground to play the 17th round of the first phase of the National Under-15 Championship. At the end of the match, the scoreboard showed a goalless draw.

Lourenço Dias, Piers Pinnock, Gabriel Paradela, Leonardo Gori, José Fonseca, Gabriel Dias, Tiago Sousa, Eduardo Pisco, Gonçalo Tavares, João Campos, and Lourenço Campos were João Rodrigues’ starting choices. On the substitutes’ bench were Francisco Clara, Vítor Tiolo, Martim Campos, Santiago Cavaco, David Oliveira, Diogo Matos, Lucas Morais, Afonso Carvalho, and Ludgero Ebo.

Played at Estádio Aurélio Pereira, at the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, the derby was marked by balance between the two teams. Even so, Sporting showed greater offensive initiative, although their attacks were stopped by Benfica’s defensive solidity.

In the second half, the scenario remained similar to the first 40 minutes, with the red team managing to neutralize the lions’ advances. Despite few chances being created, Benfica still managed some approaches to the opposing goal, but without creating any real danger.

Despite the draw, the result had no impact on the standings, since both teams had already qualified for the next stage of the competition. With this goalless draw, Sporting secured first place with 45 points, while Benfica – who beat Estoril in the previous round – remains in second place with 39 points.

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