Ten goals spread over two highly entertaining games saw Braga and Benfica draw against Leicester City and Rangers respectively in the Europa League tonight.
In northern Portugal Braga took the lead three times against the Foxes but were three times pegged back by the English side, with the final equaliser in the 95th minute hard to stomach, although a draw was probably the right result.
While Braga’s draw will feel like a defeat, Benfica’s will feel more like a victory after coming from two goals down at Ibrox to get a share of the points against Rangers. An insipid opening 70 minutes and more loose defending seemed to spell defeat for Jorge Jesus’ side, but Benfica rallied strongly in the last 20 minutes with substitutes Gonçalo Ramos and Pizzi rescuing a point.
Despite failing to pick up three points, Braga and Benfica look well placed to make progress to the knockout stage of the competition. Having a flutter on the Arsenalistas or the Eagles making a deep run in the tournament could be profitable, just like a visit to the Casino Sites UK website to try your luck. Both Portuguese clubs are currently lying second in their respective group, with a comfortable buffer to the third-placed team with two matches remaining.
Braga 3-3 Leicester City
Carlos Carvalhal was keen for his team to make a better fist of it against Leicester after the English Premier League high-fliers had crushed the Arsenalistas 4-0 in England three weeks ago.
And Braga made the perfect start as Libyan midfielder Al Musrati latched onto a loose ball and rifled a 25-yard shot low into the corner of the net. The lead did not last long, however, as just five minutes later Harvey Barnes fired into the roof of the net from close range.
Undeterred, Braga hit back, a lovely flowing move ending with Paulinho finishing from close range after being teed up by Ricardo Horta. The goal made the Portugal striker Braga’s all-time top scorer in European play – it was his 12th goal for the club in UEFA competitions. Braga continued to cause Leicester problems, with Kasper Schmeichel making a series of smart saves to prevent the Portuguese side from extending their lead.
The game turned when Brendan Rodgers brought on star players Jamie Vardy and James Maddison with 30 minutes remaining. Maddison brilliantly set up the equaliser for Luke Thomas and Leicester were pushing hard for the winner.
But Braga were not done, and a sweeping break ended with Fransérgio scoring in the 90th minute for what seemed certain to be the winner. Maddison was not having it, the skilful midfielder causing havoc and creating a last-gasp equaliser for Jamie Vardy.
“Above all it was a spectacular game,” said Braga coach Carvalhal. “Our players were fantastic in the way they approached the game. We played a spectacular first half, Schmeichel made two incredible saves one after the other, and we could have reached the break with a bigger lead. The second half was different, we began to tire. It’s a fair result. It was a great advertisement for football.”
Counterpart Brendan Rodgers read the game the same way. “Braga dominated the first half, we were too slow, but in the second half we quickened the pace and we were the better team. Carlos Carvalhal is a fantastic coach. It’s the first time I’m here in Braga and I want to give my congratulations to everybody for this magnificent stadium.”
Rangers 2-2 Benfica
On the back of just one win in their previous four matches (a narrow 1-0 win against lower league opposition in the Portuguese Cup), things seemed to be going from bad to worse for Benfica after a lacklustre performance for over an hour against Rangers in Scotland.
Statuesque defending in the 7th minute allowed Rangers three bites at the cherry and an inevitable goal, Scott Arfield netting after his team-mates had been denied by first Benfica goalkeeper Helton Leite, then the crossbar.
Despite having plenty of possession, Benfica were not hurting the home team, who were content to control the game and patiently wait for mistakes from a shaky looking opposition defence.
There was no noticeable change in the second half and Vertonghen was fortunate to escape giving away a penalty when the referee and linesman failed to spot a handball in the box, but it was only a temporary reprieve. A neat passing move by Rangers opened up a shooting chance for Kemar Roofe, who produced a superb strike into the top corner to double the lead in the 69th minute.
The scarce amount of playing time Jorge Jesus has given promising teenage striker Gonçalo Ramos has been the subject of debate among Benfica fans and calls to put more trust in the youngster will only increase after what happened when JJ sent him on tonight. With twenty minutes remaining Ramos entered the fray, and Benfica immediately perked up.
First an opportunist Ramos strike found its way into the net, via Rangers defender James Tavernier, and almost immediately it was all square as a clever backheel by Ramos paved the way for fellow substitute Pizzi to rifle a 15-yard shot into the roof of the net.
The two goals in quick succession suddenly had Rangers reeling but there was no further scoring and both teams look good for progress to the knockout stage after accumulating 8 points from 4 matches.
“Even when we were losing 2-0 I thought it would be difficult for us to lose this game,” said Jesus in the post-match interview.
By Tom Kundert
