European Competitions: Portuguese Clubs
The European competitions have started and this week we had 4 teams in action with several different results.
The most solid and safe performance of the season came in the middle of the Champions League debut! ⠀
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FC Porto turned on “Champions mode” and resolved a game in the 1st half that turned out to be less complicated than expected!
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In the style of Sérgio Conceição, the team pressed high and was intense and aggressive, demonstrating a collective sense that they had not yet demonstrated this season!
Galeano had an incredible game, eventually being named the game's MVP. His speed and verticality are his strong points, and he risks being the game's MVP more often than not.
In this game, he participated in 2 goals and also made an assist.
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Taremi demonstrated that he is improving his performance and this is directly reflected in the improvement in the team's quality of play. ⠀
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Reinforcements, Alan Varela and Iván Jaime once again gained “points”. ⠀
The speed with which they have adapted to Sérgio Conceição's always demanding ideas and methodologies is surprising!⠀
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João Mário gave a performance like he hadn't done in some time since he returned from injury, he never managed to demonstrate the same level.
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Winning this game was very important for the group's accounts. ⠀
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Maybe it's too early to say it, but taking into account what was seen in the 2 group games (Barcelona beat Antwerp 5-0), I believe that FC Porto will have a smooth qualification!
Benfica was theoretically the favorite team for this game, but did not achieve the expected result.
Benfica started the game in the worst possible way in the first minute, Turbin (he was making his debut in the Champions League for Benfica) committed a “ridiculous” penalty in a corner when he hit an opponent inside the box with both fists.
RB Salzburg failed to convert the penalty.
In the 11th minute, Benfica hits the post with a bang and on the rebound it hits the only player who was between the rebound and the goal.
In the 12th minute, after Bah's absurd delay for Turbin, a new penalty was awarded to RB Salzburg after the ball hit António Silva's hand, and he was sent off.
This time, RB Salzburg converted the penalty.
Despite having one less player, Benfica continued to play good football and created several opportunities to draw, but found a wall called Schlager who defended everything and anything.
RB Salzburg's second goal made it 2-0 in quick transition after recovering the ball in Benfica's half following a mistake by Morata.
I don't know who the man of the match was, but for me, without a doubt, it should have been Schlager who made 7 saves on blatant scoring occasions.
SC Braga were not the favorites in this game, as Napoli have a much stronger squad and won Serie A last season.
SC Braga did not turn the game around and after 2 minutes created the first opportunity.
Naples began to demonstrate all their offensive power, but Matheus, SC Braga's goalkeeper, was at a great level.
Napoli ended up taking the lead in the minutes of added time with a first-time shot from a second ball from a corner.
In the second half, SC Braga came with the desire to get a draw, which meant that there was more space on the field for both sides, meaning that there were goal situations in both goals.
SC Braga ended up getting the equalizer in the 83rd minute.
However, when everyone expected the game to end in a draw, an own goal occurred 3 minutes before the end of regulation time.
In the last minute of stoppage time, SC Braga has a shot that hits the goal post.
Honestly, despite the defeat, I liked what I saw from SC Braga as they played against a stronger team and didn't just defend.
Clearly, Sporting is stronger than SK Sturm Graz.
However, during the first 75 minutes, SK Sturm Graz gave a great response.
I don't know what Ruben Amorim's idea was to leave 5 first-team players on the bench, given that the next game will be on the following Wednesday for the Portuguese championship.
If it was for managing the effort of his players, we can say that he had more luck than sense. Although even without 5 starters, the team was creating goal opportunities and was unable to achieve them.
When these 5 starters came on we saw a clear change in the game and Sporting were in control of the game and with two slightly clumsy goals they managed to turn the score around, ending up winning 1-2.
In the equalizer, after a brilliant individual touch from Pedro Gonçalves (Pote), the SK Sturm Graz goalkeeper handled the shot poorly as he tried to grab the ball with the rebound close to his goal.
The comeback goal was a shot on a second ball from a corner that deflected off Coates' leg and ended up being a goal.