Benfica kept up the chase against a relentless Porto at the top of the table by grabbing a last-gasp victory against Lisbon neighbours Estrela da Amadora in an exhilarating game of football played at Estádio da Reboleira tonight.
Gianluca Prestianni added to his growing collection of wonder goals this season with perhaps the best of the lot, curling a sumptuous shot into the top corner from 25 yards out in the 26th minute.
Estrela were making a fight of it though, and equalised early in the second half through Lovro Zvonarek after a lung-busting run from impressive Romanian midfielder Ianis Stoica.
Back came Benfica, retaking the lead through a Bernardo Schappo own goal after more good work by Prestianni.
But Estrela refused to lie down and equalised for a second time soon afterwards when Leandro Antonetti headed home from a corner.
Dramatic winner
Benfica threw everything at Estrela and were rewarded in the dying seconds of stoppage time when substitute Andreas Schjelderup dinked a delightful cross into the path of Pavlidis with the outside of his foot, and the Greek striker made no mistake to send the Benfica fans wild with delight.
Although five points behind the leaders, Benfica and their fans will take heart from the fact they are ONLY five points behind Porto despite their rivals’ perfect record.
Marco Silva’s side have won 16 of their last 17 matches in all competitions and look up for a sustained title challenge.
Estrela da Amadora 2-3 Benfica highlights
Highlights to follow shortly.
