António Silva: Porto didn't deserve win after another 0-0 at Dragão | OneFootball

At the end of the elimination against FC Porto, Benfica left the field with a discourse that once again called the merit of the Dragons into question. António Silva was the voice of this perspective: “There was one team today that deserved to go through, I think it was us.” A strong statement, based on Benfica’s performance, but one that runs up against an undeniable fact of the season: in two visits to Estádio do Dragão, Benfica failed to score a single goal.

Football is decided by efficiency. And it is precisely here that the “we didn’t deserve to lose” argument starts to lose strength. Benfica once again left the Dragão without scoring, repeating the outcome of the league match. Two classics at the same venue, two games without scoring. Regardless of offensive volume, possession, or territorial advantage, the inability to turn dominance into effective finishing inevitably weighs on the overall assessment.

António Silva highlighted the goal conceded from a set piece as just an episode of the game — “that’s football” — and not as a reflection of Porto’s superiority. Even so, this detail ends up reinforcing a trend: FC Porto was more pragmatic, more competent at key moments, and more effective in managing their lead. Merit which, at the highest level of football, is rarely measured solely by the quality of play.

The Benfica defender rejected the idea of a lost season and emphasized the unity of the locker room around the coach, downplaying external criticism. This message of cohesion is relevant in a context of accumulated disappointments, but it does not erase the competitive reality: Benfica continues to show structural difficulties in big games, especially in what decides matches the most — scoring goals.

In the end, a paradox remains that is hard to ignore. Benfica may have had more shots in the game, but once again left defeated. They may have shown emotional and physical improvement, but could not change the result. And as long as the talk of merit is not accompanied by offensive effectiveness, especially in decisive stadiums like the Dragão, it will continue to sound more like an excuse than an indisputable conclusion.

In football, there are no moral victories. There are victories on the pitch, and FC Porto has been stronger than Benfica.

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