Benfica edge ahead with narrow win in Portuguese Cup | OneFootball

The women's team of Benfica started off on the right foot in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-finals. On the night of Wednesday, February 4th, the red and white team traveled to Minho, where they defeated Braga, 1-0, continuing their victory in the League Cup. Caroline Møller scored the solitary goal.

Lena Pauels, Marit Lund, Beatriz Cameirão, Cristina Prieto, Caroline Møller, Lúcia Alves, Carole Costa, Christy Ucheibe, Catarina Amado, Pauleta, and Chandra Davidson were Ivan Baptista's initial choices. On the bench, the Eagles' coach also had Thaís Lima, Letícia Almeida, Diana Silva, Rakel Engesvik, Lara Martins, Diana Gomes, Carolina Tristão, Carissa Boeckmann, and Neide Guedes.

Playing at the Amélia Morais Stadium, the home ground of Braga, the inspiring team had a lethal start, with Caroline Møller, following an assist from Marit Lund, opening the scoring just two minutes into the game. Before halftime, the Club from Luz had another chance to make it 2-0, but Patrícia Morais saved Lúcia Alves' shot. In the final minutes, Braga created more danger, but without major threats to Lena Pauels.

In the second half, Braga came onto the field with a different approach and sought to overturn the deficit. After showing improvement at the end of the first half, the Minho team entered with more danger and created many difficulties for Benfica. However, the Eagles managed to maintain their lead. In the midst of this, the Minho team missed a penalty.

With this result, Benfica heads into the second leg with an advantage, getting closer to reaching the decisive match at Jamor. The second match against Braga is scheduled for March 18th at 5:00 PM. Meanwhile, the inspiring team will host Vitória de Guimarães on February 8th for another round of the BPI League.

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