The Expert: Benfica show champions’ grit to edge Sporting in derby
It’s fast becoming a third certainty in life - death, taxes, and Benfica win in the end. For those hoping for the Liga title race to blown wide open, Sunday’s Lisbon derby - or at least its result - was a disappointment, with the champions re-establishing a four-point lead over Porto, with Sporting Clube de Portugal a point further back in third. In terms of delivering a pulsating, visceral spectacle, though, the derby was nothing of the sort.
This was a tremendous advertisement for Portuguese domestic football, a fast and furious pile through the best elements that the dérbi de Segunda Circular can offer. It wasn’t hard to understand the frustration of Jorge Jesus who, after crossing the divide to join Sporting in summer 2016, has seen his initial hold over his former employers loosen considerably. Having defeated Benfica in his first three meetings after leaving Estádio da Luz, in Supertaça, Taça and Liga, Rui Vitória’s men have turned things around.
Benfica’s 1-0 win at Estádio José Alvalde last March wrested the title race in their favour last season and now this win has done likewise for this campaign, though perhaps not so definitively given the earlier stage in the season we’re at. Jesus complained after Sunday’s latest confrontation that “we were defeated by the third team on the pitch,” upset with a pair of possible penalties not called for his team - the first of which, when the ball struck Pizzi’s hand at the mouth of his own penalty area, marked the beginning of the move which climaxed with Eduardo Salvio opening the scoring.
Whether you thought that should have been a spot kick for Sporting or not, it was only the thin end of the wedge in terms of the visitors’ misfortunes. As well as coming up against an excellent goalkeeping performance from rising star Ederson, who rated 8.13, they struck the woodwork right at the start of the second half, through striker Bas Dost, and almost immediately conceded the second - and ultimately winning - goal to Raúl Jiménez.
The numbers hint at Sporting’s unrewarded dominance. They started strongly and finished in a fashion that meant Benfica had to hang on. Jesus’ team had 14 shots to the hosts’ six, and they had 58.6% of possession, which was in keeping with their season’s position of being the side in the Liga that see most of the ball, which is 61.2% on average. Yet even if Sporting were impressive and felt hard done by, with an overall performance not much different to the one that won them the corresponding fixture last October by 3-0, the numbers alone don’t tell the whole tale of the tape. There has to be context.
For starters, possession isn’t that important in this derby, an occasion defined by high-impact play, cut and thrust. In Sporting’s 3-0 win last year, Benfica actually had 53% of the ball, to little avail. Much of that came with the game spent, of course, while Sporting’s possession here helped them dominate, even if they weren’t able to make it count in the final reckoning.
One could point to Benfica making more tackles, too, as a sign of their need to fight to get a toehold in the game. They won 33 challenges but then again, Sporting weren’t far behind, with 30. As Aguías came into this match on the back of straight defeats for the first time in more than a year, a first Liga reverse of the season against Marítimo followed by a Champions League loss to Napoli so they weren’t in fluent form.
If you’re guaranteed one thing by Vitória’s team, though, it’s fight, and that was apparent here. Nelsinho, their excellent right-back who is rapidly becoming one of the stars of the European season, represented Benfica’s night in microcosm. The game’s star man, rating 8.28, had a pivotal role at both ends of the pitch, despite being far more tethered than is habitual.
The 23-year-old has made his name for his rampaging runs forward this season, underlapping as much as overlapping, in the image of his fantastic Champions League strike at Besiktas. Yet here his average position was fairly deep one. A player who makes 2.5 tackles per game on average was required to defend a lot more and he did it with gusto, making seven tackles and eight clearances. Not that he neglected the attacking side of his game. He made two key passes and offered the assist for Raúl’s crucial goal.
For a side ostracised from its best form, this ideas of group pitching in was crucial. Rafa, surprisingly included instead of Franco Cervi, made only his second Liga start for the club and was excellent. He provided Benfica with their thrust on the break, created Salvio’s opener with a deft, outside-of-the-foot cross and even made five tackles of his own in a tireless performance. Raúl, too, was only starting for a third time in the Liga but got both of his efforts at goal on target and drew four fouls.
Jesus must privately wish that Sporting could have been so economical in their efforts. Instead, he was left to defend bringing off Bas Dost, Sporting’s scorer and biggest attacking target, as they chased an equaliser. Sportinguistas have to hope that their side can find the grit to match their style in the coming weeks and months.
