After Portuguese Cup heartbreak, Benfica kickstart recovery against Rio Ave | OneFootball

The first team of Benfica put an end to their run of poor results. On the night of Saturday, January 17, the team managed by José Mourinho played in Vila do Conde, where they defeated Rio Ave 2-0, thanks to a goal from Leandro Barreiro and an own goal by Andreas Ntoi. Check out the match story here.

Anatoliy Trubin, Amar Dedic, Tomás Araújo, Nicolás Otamendi, Samuel Dahl, Leandro Barreiro, Fredrik Aursnes, Gianluca Prestianni, Georgiy Sudakov, Andreas Schjelderup, and Vangelis Pavlidis were the Special One’s starting choices. During the match, Sidny Cabral, João Rego, and Manu Silva were brought on.

After two less positive results, Benfica came out determined to show a different side and took control of the match, proving superior to the team from Vila do Conde. In the 16th minute, Leandro Barreiro rose highest and headed in a cross from Sudakov. Ten minutes later, Ntoi was unfortunate to put the ball into his own net, giving the Eagles the lead at halftime.

In the second half, the red team managed their advantage wisely, controlling the pace of the game and limiting Rio Ave’s attacks. Despite some attempts from the home side, Benfica remained solid defensively and were always closer to extending their lead than conceding a goal, thus securing a comfortable win in Vila do Conde.

With this result, the Club from Luz manages to put an end to their crisis after two consecutive defeats, against Braga in the League Cup, and Porto, which led to their elimination from the Portuguese Cup. In summary, Benfica starts the second half of Liga Portugal Betclic with a win, strengthening third place with 42 points, three points behind Sporting, who are in second place.

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