Benfica 1-0 Sporting CP - Eagles secure the Super Cup to earn early bragging rights in Portugal | OneFootball

Benfica beat Sporting Clube de Portugal 1-0 in a hard-fought Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira at Estádio do Algarve.

Sporting enjoyed the better chances until the 50th minute when Vangelis Pavlidis fired through traffic and squeezed the ball under Rui Silva.

Luis Suárez replaced Conrad Harder and had the final chance of the contest, the striker denied by António Silva as Benfica closed out the contest.

Early goal called back

Sporting put the ball into the net early on following a slick move started by Maxi Araújo and Morten Hjulmand. Conrad Harder squared the ball to Pedro Gonçalves who converted from close range, Harder ruled narrowly offside by the VAR.

There was no shortage of challenges in Loulé, Amar Dedic and Ousmane Diomande booked before Geny Catamo missed the top corner.

Harder volleyed over the bar after the break and Francisco Trincão’s effort was blocked, but it was Benfica who scored the decisive goal in the 50th minute. Matthew Marshall reports from Estádio do Algarve.

Ríos makes his presence felt

Richard Ríos did well to keep the ball and pick out Vangelis Pavlidis who found Samuel Dahl in the box. Araújo’s rushed clearance fell perfectly for Pavlidis who fired past Morten Hjulmand and under Rui Silva who could have done better.

Harder was having a frustrating evening as he attempted to stake a claim for Viktor Gyökeres’ starting spot, going down under pressure from Nicolás Otamendi who was then taken down by Pote.

Pavlidis tested Silva before Rui Borges went to his bench in the 68th minute when Zeno Debast, Giorgi Kochorashvili and Luis Suárez replaced Ousmane Diomande, Hidemasa Morita Conrad Harder.

Geovany Quenda replaced Araújo as Bruno Lage made his first substitutions in the 80th minute, Enzo Barrenechea and Kerem Aktürkoğlu making way for Florentino Luís and Gianluca Prestianni.

Suárez had his first chance when played in by Pote, António Silva doing well to get in the way as Tiago Gouveia and Henrique Araújo replaced Amar Dedic and Pavlidis.

New eras begin

Sporting claimed their second straight Liga title last season, largely thanks to Viktor Gyökeres being a one-man wrecking machine up front. Rui Borges has the unenviable task of attempting to replace the damage done by the Swedish striker.

Conrad Harder doesn’t appear ready to fill that void any time soon, so plenty of the responsibility will fall on Luis Suárez’s shoulders. Signed from Almería for €22.2m, only time will tell if he is ready to step up from the Spanish second division.

Benfica broke their transfer record to acquire Richard Ríos, paying Palmeiras €27m for the 25-year-old midfielder. He tried to run the show from the get go in the Algarve and instigated the winning goal.

The Eagles will be hoping he can emulate or exceed the astonishing profit earned on Enzo Fernández, and in the meantime, play a pivotal role in getting the club get back to the pinnacle of Portuguese football.

Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin, Amar Dedic (Tiago Gouveia, 87’), Samuel Dahl, Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva, Enzo Barrenechea (Florentino Luís, 80’), Leandro Barreiro (João Veloso, 90’), Fredrik Aursnes, Richard Ríos, Vangelis Pavlidis (Henrique Araújo, 87’), Kerem Aktürkoglu (80’)

Unused substitutes: Samuel Soares, Rafael Obrador, Gonçalo Oliveira, Andreas Schjelderup