Heart, patience and goals!

Lifted by the fantastic support of the Benfica fans, Benfica beat Gil Vicente (0-2) this Saturday, April 29, in a game of matchday 30 of the Liga Bwin. At the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, the eagles wasted several opportunities in the first half, but Chiquinho and Grimaldo did justice in the second half to the delight of those who never kept quiet!  

At 23' the eagles saw a goal disallowed for the irregular position of Rafa when he raced towards the goal, before assisting Gonçalo Ramos.

At 31', Neres shot from the edge of the box, with the ball passing close to Andrew's right post. The Brazilian international, at 32', saw his goal disallowed for an irregular position of Gonçalo Ramos at the beginning of the play and, at 38', launched by Rafa, he shot against Andrew's body. What a loss! In the same minute, João Neves shot for an easy save from the Brazilian keeper.

In the 44th minute, two excellent scoring opportunities for Benfica. Florentino, in the heart of the penalty area, shot to Andrew's save, who left the ball at the mercy of Neres, but the latter shot to another intervention of the home keeper.

Before the break, at 45', Grimaldo shot from far away and at 45'+2' it was João Mário finding Gabriel Pereira in the way of the ball that was going towards the goal.

At the beginning of the second half, Benfica found it difficult to impose the same offensive volume they had achieved at the end of the first half. One of the most dangerous moves was seen in Rafa's incursion on the right in the 50', who crossed dangerously, but no one came up to deflect the ball into the back of the net. 

At 61', Roger Schmidt launched Gilberto and Gonçalo Guedes to replaced João Mário and Neres, moving Aursnes forward in the pitch.

At 73', with Chiquinho and Musa already on the field, who had entered a minute earlier in place of Florentino and Gonçalo Ramos, Aursnes made a precise cross from the right to the heart of the area, where the midfielder headed the ball for 0-1! It was Chiquinho's first goal in the current edition of the League, the second of the season, which left the Benfica fans that filled the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos ecstatic.

At 82' there were two controversial moves in the Gil Vicente penalty area. First, in a dispute in the air, Musa headed the ball and Rúben Fernandes deflected the ball with his arm, then, following the throw, Otamendi was grabbed by an opposing defender and VAR came into action. After the VAR, Hélder Malheiro, referee Fábio Veríssimo called a penalty kick on the first play.

Grimaldo, from the penalty spot, in the 86', hit the ball to Andrew's right side and Andrew launched himself to the left without being able to prevent the 0-2 for the eagles.

Benfica managed to get three more points to the delight of Benfica fans who didn't get tired of supporting the team, waiting for the outcome of round 30 to see if they keep their four-point lead over the second-placed team. The Reds host Braga on matchday 31, in a game scheduled for Saturday, May 6, at 8:30 pm, at Estádio da Luz.