Sebastien Nogier/EPA
Benfica returned to winning ways in the Champions League in a game that had a crazy second half. The “eagles” started paying dearly for a bad start to the game and soon found themselves at a disadvantage.
They tied to open the second half, through Pavlidis, and soon found themselves in numerical superiority.
But the one who scored again, even with one man less, was Monaco and it seemed that Benfica would return from the Monegasque Principality empty-handed.
However, two Di Maria’s “sugar” crosses for accurate headers from two men coming from the bench – Arthur Cabral e Amdouni – they completely turned the match around in the final ten minutes and offered the three points to the “reds”.
Benfica didn’t start the game well. The first shot worth recording even belonged to the “eagles”, but it was Monaco who were in charge in the opening minutes and Ben Seghir left a first warning before scoring, still within the opening quarter of an hour, after Trubin’s incomplete save.
At a disadvantage, Benfica woke uplittle by little he took control of the game and even reached half-time with more shots and more possession of the ball, but Di María wasted, isolated, what seemed like a certain goal in the best opportunity of the first half.
The start of the second half was crazy. It started with a ball at Trubin’s goal post, before Pavlidis take advantage of an incredible mistake from Monaco’s defense to equalize.
It followed one goal disallowed for each side and an expulsion from the hosts. All this in less than 15 minutes.
In numerical superiority, Bruno Lage changed the team seeking victory, but who scored was Monacoand could even have scored more.
However, in the final ten minutes, Benfica finally made the extra man on the field count. Di Maria appeared to, with two exquisite crosses, first put the ball on Arthur Cabral’s head for the equalizer and then on Amdouni’s head for the victory.
The Game in 5 Facts
1. Benfica’s bad start in the game
Benfica took a while to find its feet at Monaco. He conceded an early goal and arrived halfway through the first half with a barely acceptable 69% passing efficiency.
2. New maximum number of actions in the opponent’s area
In a game that was played at great speed and without major defensive concerns, especially in the second half, Benfica ended the match with a total of 35 actions inside the opposing penalty area, a new season high in the competition.
3. Precise…and sweet crosses
Benfica made a total of 13 crosses. Seven reached their destination, which gives a remarkable efficiency of more than 50%. And two of them – coming from Di María’s magical left foot – even proved decisive.
4. Security in the first third
Benfica didn’t play a brilliant game in terms of passing, especially in the first half (the efficiency in that chapter improved as the minutes went by), but at least they showed security in the defensive third, where they only lost the ball eight times.
5. “Eagles” in the offside trap
Benfica players had not yet been caught offside more than four times in the same game this Champions League season. This Wednesday, at Monaco, there were six times (a new season high) and Alexander Bah even had a goal disallowed for that reason.
Best of the Field
The opponents tried to stop him (he suffered more fouls than any other player), but they couldn’t. The Turkish midfielder Orkun Kökçülike the rest of the team, didn’t even start the game well, but had an increasing performance, standing out in the passing section, with nine progressive passes and a total of four finishing passes. He was the man of the match at Monaco.
Summary
