In the run-in, Benfica win derby clash against Sporting | OneFootball

There is nothing better than ending the season with a derby triumph. On the morning of this Sunday, Benfica’s U17 team travelled to the Cristiano Ronaldo Academy, where they faced Sporting. In a match from the 14th round of the National Under-17 Championship, the Eagles beat the Lions 1-0.

Gustavo Santos, David Fernandes, Miguel Vieira, Benjamim Semedo, Leonardo Tavares, Miguel Galinho, Tomás Almeida, Hugo Gomes, Paulo Souza, Afonso Ferreirinha and Bernardo Rodrigues were the eleven players who started the match at Sporting’s ground and helped the Eagles claim the three points.

At a time when the qualification phase was practically settled, with Porto crowned champions, Eagles and Lions took to the pitch to decide who would finish in second place. In a balanced match, Sporting started better and had the first dangerous chance. From the 10th minute onwards, Benfica grew into the game and responded to the strong start by the home side.

Just past the half-hour mark, the Reds managed to make it count, with Afonso Ferreirinha opening the scoring to make it 1-0, a result that remained unchanged at half-time. In the second half, both rivals had several chances, but no more goals were scored, although Sporting came close to equalising in stoppage time.

With this result, the Lisbon club brought the curtain down on a season marked by ups and downs, in which they missed the chance to retain the title won in 2024/25. With four rounds still to play, Benfica sit in second place with 26 points. Sporting, meanwhile, are in fourth place, behind Braga, with 23 points.

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