Benfica stumble against Académico de Viseu, disappoint on opening day | OneFootball

Benfica drew 2-2 with Académico de Viseu this Sunday at the Estádio da Luz in the opening round of Liga Portugal, played behind closed doors. The Eagles went ahead twice, through goals from Vangelis Pavlidis and Gianluca Prestianni, but ultimately allowed the Viseu side to come back.

The Eagles started with determination to take control of the match and scored the opener after 10 minutes. Prestianni looked up from the left side of midfield and picked out Pavlidis with an excellent long pass. The Greek forward controlled it with his chest, took advantage of the goalkeeper being off his line and, just outside the box, finished with a precise shot to make it 1-0.

Benfica continued to create chances to extend their lead, but showed some lack of cutting edge in front of goal. In the second half, the visitors started better and managed to equalise in the 55th minute. Kahraman broke down the right and crossed into the six-yard box, where Rúben Pereira was in the right place to turn the ball into the back of the net, making it 1-1. Benfica's response did not take long. Just three minutes later, in the 58th minute, the Eagles went back in front.

Barrenechea found Gianluca Prestianni on the left flank, and the Argentine did the rest. The winger beat Robinho, burst into the area at great speed and, from a prime position, curled a shot into the right side of the goal to make it 2-1.

Académico de Viseu responded again, however, and grabbed their second equaliser of the night in the 68th minute. Following a throw-in on the right, Zamora played it back to Robinho, who had space to cross into the heart of the area. André Clóvis arrived to strike it first time on the volley, giving the goalkeeper no chance and making it 2-2. Until the final whistle, Benfica pushed again for a winning goal, but were unable to score another.

Prestianni goal (2-1):

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