In a manic match at the Estádio da Luz tonight 10-man Benfica produced a Darwin Núñez-inspired late comeback to draw 3-3 against Rangers.
No such luck for Portugal’s other representative in the Europa League however, as a heavily rotated Braga were thrashed 4-0 by EPL high fliers Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Benfica 3-3 Rangers
Winger Rafa Silva was recalled to the Benfica starting XI and made an immediate impact as he latched onto a rushed clearance in the box, made his way to the byline and cut the ball back sharply towards Seferovic. It never arrived at the Swiss striker’s feet, because hapless Rangers defender Goldson got there first but only managed to turn the ball into his own net. With 62 seconds on the clock Benfica had the lead.
A confident Benfica were controlling proceedings at this stage, Pizzi fizzing an angled shot just wide after a good move, and a second goal for the hosts seemed imminent.
However – perhaps inspired by a series of sudden heavy rainfalls that seemed more becoming of Glasgow than Lisbon – the match was turned on its head in a nightmare 5-minute spell for Benfica.
A long ball over the top sent Ryan Kent racing towards goal with just Vlachodimos to beat. In a desperate attempt to catch up with the Rangers man, Otamendi clipped his legs resulting in a foul and an inevitable red card.
Playing with an extra man, the Scottish league leaders did not take long to make their numerical advantage count as the impressive James Tavernier escaped down the right flank and whipped in a low cross, causing Diogo Gonçalves to score the second own goal of the night as his attempted clearance sliced into the net.
Benfica defence in tatters
With Benfica all at sea, Rangers then immediately took the lead, Kamara taking full advantage of passive defending to hit a low shot into the corner of the goal from 20 yards out.
Rangers were now dominant, and even when Jorge Jesus swapped both his full-backs at half time, Gilberto and Grimaldo coming on for Diogo Gonçalves and Nuno Tavares, there was no change in the pattern of play. A fine move in which both Grimaldo and Gilberto were embarrassed saw Rangers go 3-1 up, Tavernier again the provider, gifting an easy finish to Morelos.
Steven Gerrard’s team continued to cut through Benfica who appeared in danger of being seriously embarrassed, a fine move ending with Kent hitting the post.
Jorge Jesus threw on Luca Waldschmidt and Darwin Núñez and tremendous persistence from the latter led to Rafa Silva pulling a goal back in the 77th minute. Darwin’s infectious energy gave Benfica a visible boost, although Rangers still appeared to have the game under control as the clock ticked down.
But in stoppage time a lovely throughball by Waldschmidt sent Darwin racing through on goal, the Uruguayan youngster outpacing his markers and finishing clinically to give Benfica an unlikely draw.
Golo do @SLBenfica! Golo do @Darwinn99! As águias conseguem o empate, numa noite sofrida. Darwin entra, assiste e marca.#sporttvportugal #uefaeuropaleague #uel #europaleague #ligaeuropa #sportlisboaebenfica #slbenfica #benfica #rangersfc #rangers #darwinnunez pic.twitter.com/rF50AxYP34
— SPORT TV (@SPORTTVPortugal) November 5, 2020
“It was a demonstration of our belief,” said Benfica coach Jorge Jesus after the match. “We showed we are an intelligent team with a soul.” Jesus also singled out Rafa Silva for individual praise. “I congratulated him. It’s with players like this that Benfica will fight to win trophies, and that’s what I told him.”
by Tom Kundert, at the Estádio da Luz
Leicester City 4-0 Braga
It was an unhappy return to England for Carlos Carvalhal as his Braga team were well beaten by Leicester City. With several first-teamers missing either through injury (Ricardo Horta), Covid-19 (Fransérgio) or due to rotation with one eye on the match at Benfica on Sunday (André Castro, Nuno Sequeira), a depleted Braga were no match for Leicester, who showed why they are lying second in the English Premier League.
Braga may have been relieved to see Jamie Vardy on the bench, but his replacement Kelechi Iheanacho was the man who inflicted the most damage, scoring a brace and providing an assist for Dennis Praet. The ever-impressive James Maddison rounded off the scoring for the Foxes.
“The first half was even, with a Walt Disney goal separating the teams. We were well in the game, creating the odd chance, and our opponents too,” said Carvalhal.
“We came out from the break ready to fight but when you concede to go 2-0 down on 47 minutes, of course it gives you a knock from the psychological point of view. The score-line ended up getting wider, also because of the quality of our opponents.”
Despite the defeat Braga remain second in the group, and will host Leicester in the return fixture at the end of the month.
