Benfica overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat Vizela 2-1 at Estádio da Luz. The visitors took a surprise lead in the 20th minute when Milutin Osmajic raced clear and beat Vlachodimos at his near post.
David Neres equalised in the 76th minute before a bizarre period of added time, Gonçalo Ramos was sent off when he could have been awarded a penalty.
Referee Fábio Veríssimo made another bad decision in the final seconds of the game, presenting the Eagles with a dubious spot kick that João Mário dispatched with confidence.
It was the ninth straight win for Roger Schmidt’s side who temporarily go five points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga.
One way traffic
Benfica asserted their authority early on, Gonçalo Ramos meeting David Neres’ cross with his header hitting the bar. Vizela were being pinned in their own half and continually under the pump.
The Eagles were unable to create clear cut chances however, Enzo Fernández firing over from distance.
Eagles caught out
Vizela shocked the home crowd in the 20th minute when they took a surprise lead. The visitors sprung a quick counter attack, Kiko Bondoso releasing Milutin Osmajic who broke clear and beat Odysseas Vlachodimos at his near post.
Benfica immediately got on the front foot, frequently delivering balls into the box where Anderson and Bruno Wilson were dealing with the danger.
Benfica back on the attack
Roger Schmidt’s side went close in the 38th minute, João Mário’s free kick evading everyone in the box with Fabijan Buntic tipping the ball off the post.
Vizela were dealt a blow on the stroke of half-time when Bruno Wilson was injured and replaced by Ivanildo Fernandes.
Álvaro Pacheco made a change at the break, Claudemir replacing Raphael Guzzo who had been booked for a late challenge on Fernández.
Gonçalo Ramos shot shot straight at Buntic from a tight angle before both managers went to their benches in the 67th minute.
Schmidt made an attacking switch, removing Enzo Fernández and Florentino who were replaced by Fredrik Aursnes and Petar Musa. Pacheco introduced Alejandro Alvarado and Kévin Zohi for Nuno Moreira and Milutin Osmajic.
Neres does it himself
Alexander Bah replaced Gilberto in the 75th minute and within 60 seconds the Danish right-back had an assist to his name. David Neres did it all himself by bamboozling Samu, turning the midfielder inside and out before firing a fierce effort past Buntic.
Ramos headed a corner over the bar in the 88th minute before being the victim of a harsh decision, booked after a collision with Alex Méndez.
Referee has a shocker
Benfica had eight minutes of added time to find a winner before Ramos was involved in another strange decision. He poked the ball past Anderson who went to ground, Ramos falling over the defender and given a second yellow card for simulation.
It was only the start of the drama with another bad decision to come. In the 99th minute and with the last kick of the game, Rafa Silva shot into the back of Diego Rosa, the ball rebounding onto his elbow with referee Fábio Veríssimo pointing to the spot.
João Mário stepped up and held his nerve, sending Buntic the wrong way with the home crowd going beserck.
VAR took the night off
It was bizarre that the VAR didn’t get involved in Fábio Veríssimo’s decision to send off Gonçalo Ramos.
A penalty could have easily been awarded, but with the Eagles faithful in full voice in Lisbon, the referee went against the grain by failing to award a spot kick.
Rafa Silva’s shot clearly hit Diego Rosa in the back with the Brazilian facing his own goal. In both instances the VAR could have got involved but decided against it, and we will never know why.
Supporter boycott
Many Vizela supporters decided against going to Lisbon to highlight their displeasure with the way tickets were allocated. The ultra group ‘Força Azul 1982' criticized Benfica for providing tickets for away fans if they were willing to provide "personal data such as citizen card and full name".
Força Azul 1982 released a statement that read in part:
"We hereby inform you that Força Azul 1982 will not be present in the game against Benfica. Unsurprisingly for us, the same ticket sales system that was carried out last season happens again this season.
These rules go against our ideals and values that we cherish so much and we fight for a purer and truer football. We were one of the few groups that always said no to legalization and one of the many that did not adhere and fought from the beginning against a fan card.
We intended to be present, but under normal conditions that do not break the group's rules. Our boycott is not because we don't want to give away the data, it's because we give data to third parties.
Within a football stadium we can always be identified with our citizen card as soon as the competent authorities think that for obvious reasons they should do so”.
It’s great to see supporters in Portugal standing up for their rights and trying to change the status quo.
It probably won’t have much effect in this situation with Benfica unlikely to care, but as we saw with the abolishment of Monday night football in Germany, there is power in numbers, especially when ultra groups put their club loyalties aside and show solidarity.
