Benfica edge ahead and smile again in thrilling league clash | OneFootball

Back in competition, the under-23 team of Benfica played tonight, Tuesday, August 26, facing União de Leiria. In a match counting for the 4th round of the regular phase of Liga Revelação, the team led by Vítor Vinha returned from Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa with an important 4-2 victory.

Riding the momentum of their epic win against Sporting at Benfica Campus, the young Eagles looked to continue their good form and, against the Leiria side, Vítor Vinha—who extended his contract at the start of this season—chose the following starting eleven: Gonçalo Sobral, Duarte Sousa, Michée Ndembi, Guilherme Gaspar, José Neto, Rafael Quintas, Gil Neves, João Afonso, Olivio Tomé, Jaden Umeh, and Gustavo Ferreira.

In a balanced first half, both teams shared goal opportunities, but the home side was more fortunate and managed to open the scoring at Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in the 30th minute, with Xavier Cavaco beating Gonçalo Sobral. However, just before the halftime whistle, Gustavo Ferreira equalized in the 42nd minute.

Focused on victory and motivated by the goal scored before the break, Benfica came out firing and, just two minutes after the restart, took the lead with a shot from Gustavo Ferreira, who scored his second of the match. However, minutes later, the home team managed to level the score again, thanks to Tomás Bernardo. Despite the draw, the red team did not give up and went in search of regaining the lead, which came in the 77th minute with a beautiful shot from Steven Manuel. In the final minutes, it was Peter Edokpolor's turn to make it 4-2.

After a defeat against Torreense, Vítor Vinha's team got back on track and secured their second consecutive win, having beaten Sporting in the previous round. With three more points, Benfica jumped to 3rd place in the standings, with a game in hand. In the next round, Benfica will host Farense, with the match scheduled for August 31.

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