Work capacity and determination for a successful debut

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

Benfica's campaing in the League Cup began with a triumph (0-2) away at Arouca, in a match played on Tuesday night, October 31. Di María and Arthur Cabral scored the eagles' goals at the Estádio Municipal de Arouca.

For Benfica, the club with the most trophies in this competition (seven), the game of matchday 2 of the 3rd phase (Group B) represented the debut on the 5th competitive front in 2023/24.

Unable to count on Bah, Kökcü, Neres and Musa, unavailable for medical reasons, Roger Schmidt launched Trubin, António Silva, Otamendi, Morato, João Neves, Florentino, João Mário, Aursnes, Di María, Rafa and Gonçalo Guedes in the starting eleven. 

Benfica's most eagerly awaited moment came in the 26th minute, when the Argentina World Cup winner was fouled by Montero, who was yellow carded.

A free kick from the edge of the area, tailor-made for Di María's left foot. The ball was placed perfectly and the Argentina international scored (0-1). The striker's seventh goal this season!

At half-time, the score was 0-1.

Benfica scored the 2nd goal through João Mário, who received a great pass from Di María in the 54th minute. The midfielder deflected the ball past Thiago. However, the play was analyzed by the VAR, which detected an irregular position for Gonçalo Guedes at an early stage of the play. Goal disallowed.

Roger Schmidt immediately refreshed the attack. Rafa, Guedes and Di María were replaced by Tengstedt, Arthur Cabral and Tiago Gouveia (56').

The first time he touched the ball, the Portugal Under-21 international made a dent: he tunneled David Simão, was brought down by Kouassi, who was punished with a yellow card.

In a bid to freshen up the attack, Arthur Cabral, following a pass from Tengstedt, broke ahead of the halfway line, made a great run towards goal and, despite being pressured by Montero and Rafael Fernandes, beat Thiago! It was 0-2 after 74 minutes, one of the best moments of the night.

An undisputed 0-2 win. With three points to their name, the same as Arouca, who have already finished runners-up in the group, Benfica just need one more point to seal their qualification for the final four.

The match against AVS on gameweek 3, scheduled for December 21 at Estádio da Luz (8:15 pm), will decide the winner of the group. 

For now, on Saturday, November 4, at 3:30 pm, Benfica will turn their attention to the Liga Betclic. At the Estádio Municipal Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira, the Eagles face GD Chaves on Matchday 10 of the Championship.