Braga beat Benfica to reach the Portuguese League Cup final | OneFootball

Benfica even tried, but the night in Leiria belonged to Braga. At the Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Stadium, this Thursday (7th), the team from Minho was more organized, more intense, and, above all, more lethal, winning 3-1 in the semifinal of the Taça da Liga, the Allianz Cup, and securing a spot in the final.

They will face their biggest rival, Vitória de Guimarães, in the final. 

From the very first minutes, it was clear that Braga had arrived with a well-defined plan. Unbothered by sharing possession, Carlos Vicens’ team bet on aggression off the ball and speed to attack the spaces left by Benfica. It worked.

In the 19th minute, Rodrigo Zalazar found Pau Víctor free in the heart of the box. The striker finished precisely, giving Trubin no chance, and opened the scoring.

The goal gave even more confidence to the “Warriors of Minho,” who began to control the pace of the game. Benfica struggled to impose themselves, held back by high pressing and well-compact lines. When they tried to speed up, they ran into a lack of creativity and the opponent’s defensive alertness.

Braga, on the other hand, always seemed one pass away from hurting. And they did it again. In the 33rd minute, Zalazar broke free, left Sudakov and Otamendi behind, and struck firmly inside the box to make it 2-0.

Halftime arrived with almost absolute dominance from Braga and a heavy atmosphere for the red side. Boos accompanied Benfica as they left for the locker room, reflecting a first half in which the attack was practically nullified and the defense exposed.

At the start of the second half, Benfica tried to change their approach and earned a golden opportunity in the 62nd minute, when Paulo Oliveira committed a penalty on Pavlidis. The striker himself took responsibility and converted, putting the reds back in the game at 64. The goal brought hope and a brief moment of pressure, but it wasn’t enough to change the course of the match.

Once again, Braga knew how to wait. Organized, cool-headed, and aware of what needed to be done, they withstood the adverse moment and became lethal again when the opportunity arose.

In the 81st minute, Ricardo Horta took a free kick from the right, Trubin saved the first attempt, but Lagerbielke appeared unmarked on the rebound to make it 3-1 and end any hope of a comeback.

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