FC Porto and Benfica battle at Dragão Arena for final spot v Braga | OneFootball

Benfica, the national women’s champions, have the chance this Thursday, at 8:30 p.m., to stay in the hunt to defend their title, although the task will be demanding, as they travel to Dragão Arena to take on FC Porto in a playoff semi-final tied at two wins apiece.

Home advantage has had no impact on the outcome of the tie: in the first match, the Eagles won 3-2 in Porto, then lost 0-3 at the Luz, and the next two matches also ended in victories for the away side, both by 3-2, first Benfica and then FC Porto.

It will therefore be a decisive clássico to determine who advances to the final against Sp. Braga, the side that knocked out Sporting with a 3-0 win.

Henrique Furtado, Benfica’s coach, admits he cannot explain the balance of the tie: “It’s hard to explain. They were different moments. The teams have players with a lot of experience and others who are young. It’s not a matter of playing well away from home and badly at home. It has been a great battle. In the second match, we played below the level we could have, but there has been very little between the sides throughout the series. Regardless of where we played, it was very evenly matched. There were three 3-2s, three matches decided in the fifth set. It happened both ways and I hope it stays that way, because I hope to go to Porto and get the win,” said the coach in comments to BTV.

Kelsey Veltman, FC Porto’s Canadian middle blocker, previewed the match on the club’s website: “We’re very confident and very ambitious. It’s going to be a difficult match, but these are the semi-finals and we have to remember that in order to give our best. We have to be at 100%. We don’t want to leave the match with regrets, so we have to give our best and try to enjoy ourselves while we play. The key to the match will be staying calm and composed. It’s going to be a very exciting match, full of ups and downs, but we have to remember what we do in training and try to apply it in matches. Playing at home is a huge advantage because we get so much support from our fans. The noise in the arena is deafening and that gives us a lot of energy and helps us keep going.”

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