Youth teams: 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 trailing 2-0 very early, turned the score around before halftime, and in the second half, after leading 4-2, saw Benfica respond and equalize... in the last play of the match.

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

FC Porto had the first opportunity 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 at the goal line.

However, FC Porto reacted and also took advantage of the opponent's mistakes, scoring three goals between the 17th and 31st minutes to turn the 0-2 into 2-3. Gonçalo Oliveira reduced to 2-1, shooting in the area after a free-kick from the right and benefiting from a deflection off Gil Neves that deceived 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 area, after persistence from Anhá Candé among several opponents.

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

The goal motivated Benfica in their fight for points, and beyond the seven minutes of added time granted, in the 90+8 minute, Tomás Soares deflected a corner from Mauro Furtado to make it 4-4, in a game featuring several U-17 world champions and ending with a point for each side.

In the other matches of the afternoon, Famalicão and Santa Clara drew without goals. Sporting defeated Gil Vicente 2-0 and took the isolated lead.

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