Benfica humiliate Porto 4-1 at the Estádio do Dragão | OneFootball

Unheard of. Benfica thrashed Porto 4-1 at the Estádio do Dragão tonight. It was only the second time Benfica have scored four goals at the home of their fiercest rivals – the previous occasion was in 1943!

The Eagles completely outplayed the hosts from start to finish. As well as the four goals, Benfica hit the post twice and had several other opportunities to pile on the misery for Porto’s supporters.

Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis was the hero of the night for the Lisbon outfit netting a hat-trick. Samu Aghehowa pulled one back for Porto, but Benfica captain Nicolás Otamendi put the cherry on the cake for the visitors to make it 4-1 – the same scoreline when the two teams met at the Estádio da Luz earlier this season.

Benfica are in rude health, clocking up a 9th successive victory in the Primeira Liga as they continue firm in their fight for the title with Lisbon rivals Sporting. For Porto, it’s back to the drawing board with new president André Villas-Boas under increasing pressure.

Dragons unchanged, Di María back

Porto came into the match on a high having improved their performance level in recent weeks and having won two matches consecutively for the first time under coach Martín Anselmi. Unsurprisingly, the Argentine coach stuck to the same starting XI that won at Estoril last week. Benfica welcomed back Ángel Di María who started his first game after several weeks out injured.

Lightning start

40 seconds in, 1-0 to Benfica! Porto’s fans, as is habitual, created a tremendous atmosphere at the Estádio do Dragão against their biggest rivals but they received a shock when Kerem Aktürkoğlu’s brilliant cross was stroked into the net first-time by in-form Pavlidis.

Porto initially reacted well to the setback, pushing Benfica back, Samu, Mora and Moura on the left flank especially causing Benfica problems, with right-back Tomás Araújo showing evident signs of his fitness problems.

Benfica were not attacking much, but when they did they created far more danger than the home team. In the 19th minute Florentino Luís headed a pinpoint Di María cross towards goal, forcing Diogo Costa into a diving save. The ball fell to Araújo whose shot smashed against the post but the defender had strayed offside.

On 26 minutes Porto were close to an equaliser as Florentino lost the ball in midfield, Fábio Vieira raced forward, passed to Pepê who in turn fed Samu, the big striker stretching but unable to apply the finishing touch.

Aktürkoğlu on fire

Five minutes later and it was Benfica’s turn to construct a perfect counter-attack, the lively Kerem Aktürkoğlu doing everything right apart from marginally setting his sights off, skipping past his Eustáquio but shooting against the post.

And Benfica were denied by the post again soon afterwards, Aktürkoğlu again involved, passing to Pavlidis whose effort thudded against the upright with Costa beaten.

Classy Pavlidis makes it two

Benfica’s enterprising attacking play was rewarded with a second goal shortly before half time. Florentino’s scuffed shot fell into the path of Pavlidis, the striker showing superb awareness and skill to bamboozle Nehuén Pérez with a smart turn and slot into the corner of the net.

Benfica’s fans were in dreamland, Aktürkoğlu, Pavlidis and Aursnes outstanding in a dominant first half, and the pattern of the game did not change after the break, Di María forcing Diogo Costa into an alert save to prevent an “Olympic” corner from hitting the net.

Di María then had a far more conventional chance to score having been beautifully set up by Álvaro Carreras, but the normally lethal Argentine shot into the side-netting when a goal looked certain.

The Clássico tactical battle, by José Ricardo Leite, at the Estádio do Dragão

Anselmi chose João Mário over Martim Fernandes. The ball was one hour away from startiting to roll and we already knew that the FC Porto manager was choosing speed and 1 on 1 offensive football instead of a more supported style of play. A note to Eustáquio establishing himself as a libero for the Dragões.

Lage surprised everyone with Tomás Araújo starting today. He also chose to start Aktürkoğlu instead of Bruma, which meant that he was also looking for speed and a more individualistic style.

The tactics of the game were already rattled at first minute, since Benfica scored an early goal. That forced Porto to press really high, which was working really well. Benfica always tried to start their attacking play through the middle and the Dragões knew about it.

In the first half, FC Porto were clearly better on the ball despite the early goal. However, Benfica looked really dangerous on the counter-attack. And even though Porto were better, they couldn’t defend a corner set-piece from the Eagles. Porto suffered two goals out of simple lack of attention! Benfica chose Florentino Luís to guard Rodrigo Mora like special forces and the young gem was not getting many opportunities to show his game through the middle and forced wide multiple times.

Being 2-0 up, Benfica tried to put some ice in the game. Unlike Porto, that wanted to press as mad dogs the man on the ball. And they were right to do so. The Dragões were already in a shambles and completely unrecognisable from the first half. Benfica used possession to rattle the FC Porto team even more and eventually made it 3-0. Pavlidis has been an absolute killer and scored a clinical hat-trick today.

Anselmi put on three centre-backs and took off Eustáquio, but being down 3-0, the defensive safety was not what the Porto fans asked for. Still, Samu managed to cut the deficit under that system.

Benfica controlled the tempo of the game in the second half and still managed to equal the result in the first round of the Primeira Liga making it 4-1.

A shameful night for FC Porto, with the fans most certainly not happy and already calling for Anselmi’s head.

Hat-trick completed

Midway through the second half Samu mistimed a headed opportunity that could have changed the game, but almost immediately Benfica scored their third. Di María had a relatively quiet game, but showed his class in the 69th minute by swinging over a sumptuous cross that Pavlidis headed home for his hat-trick.

Benfica substitute Andreas Schjelderup then went close. Rather than witness the humiliation, hundreds of Porto supporters started heading for the exits.

Porto given hope

With ten minutes remaining Porto were given a ray of hope. Gonçalo Borges crossed low into the box, Fábio Vieira’s shot was saved by Trubin, but Samu was on hand to knock in the rebound.

Two goals difference and an unlikely comeback? It seemed possible when moments later Francisco Moura escaped down the left wing, but his senseless cross was nowhere near a blue and white shirt.

That was that, and to rub salt into the wounds on a painful night for Porto, Benfica captain and former Porto centre-back Otamendi restored the Eagles’ three-goal lead with a header after more shocking defending from the home team.

Benfica hit top spot

Benfica move clear at the top of the table on 68 points and now wait to see if Sporting can equal them in the final match of the weekend jornada at home to Braga tomorrow.

The defeat definitively knocks Porto out of the title race, and the Dragons will also be watching tomorrow’s match at Alvalade carefully as their focus is now on trying to secure third place ahead of Braga.