'Inferno da Luz' frozen in extra time, Benfica on alert | OneFootball

Benfica's home record has been a real disaster. In their last three matches at Estádio da Luz, the Reds drew against Santa Clara, lost to Qarabag, and drew again last Tuesday, September 23rd, against Rio Ave. Excluding the defeat, the two most recent draws for the Eagles have one thing in common: extra time.

This is because, both in the match against Santa Clara and against Rio Ave, both counting for Liga Portugal Betclic, Benfica conceded the fateful equalizer during stoppage time, always at a moment when they were leading the game by the narrow margin of 1-0.

In the fifth round of the National Championship, it was Vinícius Lopes who froze the 'Inferno da Luz', scoring the equalizer for Benfica in the 92nd minute, after a serious mistake by Otamendi that proved decisive. At that time, the Reds were still coached by Bruno Lage.

Now, in the era of José Mourinho, it was André Luiz who became Benfica's executioner in extra time, securing the draw and, consequently, a point for Rio Ave, by scoring a true screamer in the 90'+1 minute, on the return of the 'Special One' to his former home.

Besides this, yesterday's match had another interesting fact. This is because, out of the 22 starters for Benfica and Rio Ave, only one was Portuguese, namely António Silva. Thus, this game entered the history of Liga Portugal Betclic as the match with the most foreign players in the starting elevens.

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