Juniors: Benfica and FC Porto draw in a thrilling eight-goal clash | OneFootball

Benfica and FC Porto drew 4-4 this Saturday, in the fourth round of the championship phase of the national junior league. The Dragons were down 2-0 very early on, turned the score around before halftime, and in the second half, after taking a 4-2 lead, saw Benfica respond and equalize… in the very last play of the match.

There were eight goals, a comeback, efficiency, defensive errors, and excitement right up to the final whistle at Benfica Campus, where the Eagles opened the scoring in the seventh minute.

FC Porto had the first chance through Anhá Candé, but it was Jaden Umeh who made it 1-0, receiving a pass from Gustavo Ferreira and rounding goalkeeper Antoni Nikolov before scoring. Four minutes later, in the 11th minute, Umeh scored again for 2-0 in a play where Porto’s defense was poorly positioned; Nikolov failed to control a back pass, which slipped between his legs, and Umeh confirmed the goal right on the goal line.

However, FC Porto reacted and also took advantage of their opponent’s mistakes, scoring three goals between the 17th and 31st minutes to turn the 0-2 into a 2-3 lead. Gonçalo Oliveira pulled one back to make it 2-1, shooting in the box after a free kick from the right and benefiting from a deflection off Gil Neves that fooled goalkeeper Leonardo Lopes. In the 26th minute, Eduardo Ferreira made it 2-2 after capitalizing on a failed clearance by Mauro Furtado to shoot with his right foot into the goal. The comeback was completed by Duarte Cunha, who scored with a precise right-footed shot in the box, after persistence from Anhá Candé among several defenders.

In the second half, with Yoan Pereira not returning after being hurt in a head clash with Gustavo Ferreira, FC Porto extended their lead in the 60th minute: Duarte Cunha scored his second, cutting in from the left to the center and placing his shot in the top opposite corner.

The goal spurred Benfica on in their fight for points and, already past the seven minutes of added time, in the 90+8 minute, Tomás Soares deflected a Mauro Furtado corner to make it 4-4, in a match that featured several U-17 world champions and ended with a point for each side.

In the other matches of the afternoon, Famalicão and Santa Clara drew 0-0. Sporting beat Gil Vicente 2-0 and took the lead at the top of the table.

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