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PortuGOAL Figure of the Week: João Mário magic keeps Benfica on title tilt

Two Monday night late shows closed the 19th round of Liga Bwin fixtures as both Sporting and Portimonense grabbed dramatic winning goals in the closing stages of their encounters with Rio Ave and Paços Ferreira respectively.

Elsewhere Chaves ended a recent barren run by overcoming Marítimo, while Vitória Guimarães tightened up the battle for 5th place with an important defeat of Estoril.

At the top of the table things remain as they were as leaders Benfica strengthened their title claims with a confident 3-0 victory against Casa Pia. 30 year old midfielder João Mário was instrumental in the match as he continued his fine form this season, and he is our PortuGOAL Figure of the Week.

A veteran of the Portuguese football scene, João Mário raised several eyebrows when he controversially signed for Benfica in the summer of 2021 from Inter Milan. The bad feeling stems from the midfielder being a former Sporting hero, growing up in their youth academy and starring for the senior team in two different spells, the latter of watch was a loan deal from the Italians that looked like it might turn permanent before the Lions’ eternal city rivals Benfica swooped in to nab the Portugal international on a free transfer.

Sporting ire will have increased in the opening weeks of João Mário’s Benfica career as he made a seamless transition to life at the Eagles, albeit a bright start petered out to a loss of form and fortunes following a mid-season change of management at Estádio da Luz as the Portuguese found himself in and out of the starting XI.

Another coaching change in summer 2022 though has given João Mário a shot in the arm as new boss Roger Schmidt has coaxed some of the player’s best form of his career out of him in a rampant campaign from Benfica. Choosing to largely implement the player in winger roles rather than the deeper, central midfield slots to which he had largely become accustomed to in his second stint at Sporting and indeed his first season with Benfica, João Mário’s form has been inspired in 2022/23.

Never one usually too well known for goals, his output of 16 in all competitions this campaign (as well as 9 assists) is a phenomenal return, particularly in the context of the high level of success Benfica have experienced in the season, in Europe as well as domestically. Competition for places increased significantly during the close-season too as talented wide players in the form of David Neres and Julian Draxler were brought to the club, yet João Mário has been the mainstay in Schmidt’s preferred lineup.

His wonderful form even secured what appeared for many years to be an unlikely recall to the Portuguese national team in time for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with the 30 year old making two tournament appearances for the Seleção.

Whilst Portugal and João Mário’s World Cup ended somewhat disappointingly the player has picked himself back up upon the return of domestic action and aside from suffering their first and only league loss to Braga in late December it has largely been business as usual for the dominant Liga Bwin leaders.

For Saturday evening’s home contest with Casa Pia Benfica set about cementing their eight point advantage over nearest challengers Porto (albeit having played a game more). Their opponents were among those promoted to Primeira Liga this season but represented no pushover, Casa Pia being among the stories of the campaign in Portugal, residing in 5th place prior to kick off.

João Mário and co. were in no mood to further enhance the mood around their opponents’ camp though, and the away side could have been forgiven for sensing an opportunity in the form of Benfica missing two key players from their lineup due to injury in the shape of Rafa Silva and Gonçalo Ramos.

The hosts started sharply as they looked to make light of the absence of the aforementioned stars and João Mário was dictating play from the off, setting full back Alexander Bah free on the right-hand side in the 19th minute, the Dane crossing in for the returning Goncalo Guedes to cleverly flick towards the near post but Casa Pia keeper Ricardo Batista was equal to the effort.

Batista was powerless to stop Benfica taking the lead in the 35th minute however and it was João Mário arriving at the right time into the box to open the scoring, calmly side-footing home from Neres’ cutback.

Just before half-time João Mário was predatory once again in making it 2-0, sliding in at the back post to convert Álex Grimaldo’s inviting ball across the face of the goal.

Clinical finishing from the Portuguese meant it felt the game was already out of sight at the break. 

Casa Pia tried to find a way back into the match in the second period but it only ever looked like it would be a case of the advantage being stretched further and Benfica duly did so in the 71st minute to put the match beyond reasonable doubt. This time João Mário claimed an assist, picking up the ball midway through his team’s half and finding Bah, who embarked on a solo run before finishing splendidly to make it 3-0.

João Mário and Bah combined excellently throughout on Benfica’s right flank, the pair making full use of the absence of one of Casa Pia’s star players this season, left wing back Leonardo Lelo.

The Benfica man of the match should have ended with a second assist to crown in terrific performance, João Mário clipping in a fine pass into the path of the perfectly timed run of midfield cohort Fredrik Aursnes, but the Norwegian missed the mark with his headed attempt. Nonetheless, job done for Benfica as the three points were theirs, and remarkably João Mario’s brace saw him move joint top of the Liga Bwin goalscoring charts on twelve, alongside team-mate Ramos and Gil Vicente’s Fran Navarro.

This feels like something of a mini-renaissance period of João Mário’s career, some tough years in Italy featuring several loans away feeling fully behind him now as he is settled back in the league where he has always shown his best football. He agonisingly missed out on lifting a Primeira Liga title back in 2015/16 under Jorge Jesus at Sporting, the midfield man will be hoping to erase those painful personal memories this coming May.

By Jamie Farr

@FRfutebolJamie