Luís Pedro Sousa eyes Madrid tie: Benfica were... | OneFootball

In his most recent opinion piece, Luís Pedro Sousa highlighted the performance of Benfica in the match against Real Madrid, which counted for the second leg of the play-off for access to the Champions League round of 16. The commentator argues that the Club could have gone through, but that some things were also missing in the Eagles' game.

"There was a sense that Benfica could have advanced in the tie, but more because of what happened yesterday in Madrid than in the first leg. Benfica was bold, played eye-to-eye with the Spanish giant, and even dared to dream. In fact, the tie was only decided in the 80th minute, with Vinícius Júnior’s goal," he said in an opinion published in the newspaper Record.

Additionally, Luís Pedro Sousa pointed out what was missing on the red side: "Composure and effectiveness in the final third, both in the moment of the last pass and in finishing. Schjelderup, Rafa, and Pavlidis had enough chances to secure a historic win at the Bernabéu, although, obviously, the Merengues also had several opportunities."

In conclusion, Luís Pedro Sousa emphasized that the first 45 minutes were well played by the Reds, however, some doubts remain: "Benfica had a very good first half, exploiting the flanks. And the inclusion of Richard Ríos on the right (in Prestianni’s position) had an effect. It gave cohesion to the midfield and freed up Dedic. On the other hand, the substitutions made were not very clear. They were late and even a bit strange. Mourinho, during this period, could have been more ambitious, for example, by bringing on Lukebakio.

It should be noted that the red and white team will be back on the pitch next Monday, March 2, against Gil Vicente, in a match for the 24th round of the Liga Portugal Betclic.

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