Bruno Prata eyes Benfica, Porto and Sporting in a 'non-decisive' matchday | OneFootball

Bruno Prata left some criticisms regarding the weak performance of Benfica in the Clássico. In his opinion piece, the columnist admitted that the Eagles failed to achieve a turning point, as they did not get the desired result in the match against Porto.

"Throughout the week, it was repeated ad nauseam that the 25th round would be “enlightening”, “decisive”, “a turning point”. In Portugal, people love these dramatic promises, as if every football weekend were a chapter of a Greek tragedy," Bruno Prata began writing.

"In the end, however, what so often happens in these plots occurred: a lot of smoke, a lot of rhetoric… and the league table practically unchanged. The leader FC Porto left the round exactly as they entered: four points ahead of Sporting and seven ahead of Benfica. In other words, they crossed one of the toughest fields left for them — the Luz — and came out unscathed," the columnist pointed out, just like Pedro jokes.

"Benfica showed character in their reaction to FC Porto’s lead and superiority, but confirmed deep weaknesses. And this round seemed to mark the end of the title dream, no matter how much the math doesn’t confirm it yet. And Porto left the Luz even more comfortable and with one less major obstacle in their path," he observed.

"On the other side, José Mourinho reacted quickly. He brought on Lukebakio, changed the system, and finally gave minutes to the unfairly treated Ivanovic. Benfica grew and ended up coming back from a two-goal deficit, at least saving the team’s honor. But Mourinho himself acknowledged the obvious: Benfica had a “terrible first half” and were largely outmatched in intensity and duels," he concluded.

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