FC Porto and Benfica battle at Dragão Arena for final v Braga | OneFootball

Benfica, the women’s national champions, have the chance this Thursday, at 8:30 pm, to stay in the fight to retain their title, although the task will be demanding, as they travel to the Dragão Arena to take on FC Porto in a playoff semi-final tied at two wins apiece.

The home-court advantage has had no impact on the outcome of the tie: in the first match, the Eagles won 3-2 in Porto, then lost 0-3 at the Luz, and the following two games also ended with wins for the visiting team, both by 3-2, first Benfica and then FC Porto.

It will therefore be a decisive clássico to determine who advances to the final against Sp. Braga, the side that knocked out Sporting with a 3-0 win.

Henrique Furtado, Benfica’s coach, admits he cannot explain the balance in the tie: “It’s hard to explain. They were different moments. The teams have players with a lot of experience and others who are young. It’s not about playing well away from home and badly at home. It has been a great battle. In the second match, we played below what we could have, but there has been very fine balance throughout the series. Regardless of where we played, it was very even. There were three 3-2s, three matches decided in the fifth set. It happened both ways and I hope it continues like that, because I hope to go to Porto and get the win,” the coach said in comments to BTV.

Kelsey Veltman, FC Porto’s Canadian middle blocker, previewed the match on the Dragons’ website: “We are very confident and very ambitious. It’s going to be a difficult match, but these are the semi-finals and we have to remember that so we can give our best. We have to be at 100%. We don’t want to leave the match with regrets, so we have to give our best and try to enjoy ourselves while we play. The key to the match will be to stay calm and sensible. It’s going to be a very emotional match, full of ups and downs, but we have to remember what we do in training and try to apply it in the matches. Playing at home is a big advantage, because we get a lot of support from our fans. The noise in the arena is deafening and that gives us a lot of energy and helps us keep pushing forward.”

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