A lot of Benfica in an evening of tributes at the Estádio da Luz

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

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Benfica beat Portimonense by 4-0, with goals from Rafa (2), Neres and Di María, on matchday 23 of the Liga Betclic held this Sunday, February 25, at Estádio da Luz. The Reds scored three goals in four minutes!

Despite the shy sun, the cold and the rain, almost 58,000 people - 57,201 was the official capacity - chose the Estádio da Luz as the best program for this Sunday, and they thought it was a good choice.

For the second consecutive domestic match at Estádio da Luz - the first was against Vizela (6-1) - and three days after the European clash with Toulouse (0-0), Roger Schmidt returned Aursnes to the starting line-up - at left-back - leaving Morato on the bench, and Kökcü in place of Tengstedt, who is suffering from flu-like symptoms.

As a result, the Reds coach fielded the following eleven: Trubin, Bah, António Silva, Otamendi, Aursnes, João Neves, João Mário, Kökcü, Di María, Neres and Rafa.

Before kick-off, the first moment of tribute in Luz: a minute's silence in memory of Artur Jorge - a former Benfica player and coach - and Rui Rodrigues - a former player at the club - who left us this week.

Four minutes in, another moment of strong emotion in Luz. As has been the case over the last few days, Benfica fans spontaneously organized an ovation to show their support for both António Silva - who lost his maternal grandfather - and João Neves - who lost his mother.

So when the clock struck 4', the stands stood up and applauded Sport Lisboa e Benfica's number 4 for a minute: António Silva. The 20-year-old thanked them and returned the applause. A chilling moment at Estádio da Luz.

In terms of emotions on the pitch, the first big chance came after 9 minutes. In one of his traditional moves, Di María went from the right to the middle, passed to Neres, who played it to João Neves. The latter passed to Aursnes, who set up Neres. The Brazilian international went to the by-line and crossed late, with the ball, after a few deflections, reaching Kökcü, who shot for a gret save from Nakamura with his feet (9').

On the half-hour mark, another great play from Benfica. António Silva turned the ball from right to left, the ball reached Aursnes who, with a first touch, put it to Neres. Once inside the area, and also with his first touch, the Brazilian player passed to Rafa, who spun with the ball on his left foot and aimed for goal, only to see his shot blocked by Relvas (30').

The corner led to another goal for the Eagles. Kökcü won the ball after the opposing defense had been relieved, and he launched a long ball into the area, where Otamendi came on. The captain, in a good position, received the ball and shot for another excellent stop from Nakamura (31').

Five minutes later, Rafa - launched by Neres - came face-to-face with the Japanese keeper, but the striker's lob over the goalkeeper was too high, and the attempt went wide (36').

After 45 minutes, Kökcü found Di María, who pushed two opponents out of the way and shot for a great save from Nakamura, one of the stars of the afternoon (45').

Half-time arrived with a very disappointing draw for the Reds, but with it came another tribute to Luz. Swimmer Diogo Ribeiro, world champion in the 50 and 100 meter butterfly, received a thunderous ovation from the crowd. 

At 59', Rafa was the first to kick the ball into the net. The No. 27 finished off another beautiful move in the best possible way.

The Reds' merry-go-round was intense. The ball reached Di María, who gave it to Kökcü, who gave it back to the World Cup winner for Argentina, who tried to leave Rafa isolated. A clearance by the Portimonense defense put the ball at the feet of Bah, who played a simple ball to Rafa, who applied a trivela that gave Nakamura no chance and went in near the right post (1-0, 55').

A ball down the middle, an attempt by Portimonense to react and... Benfica's goal!

It's true, there were still people celebrating Rafa's goal, but Neres was giving them reason to celebrate again. João Mário won the ball, gave it to Kökcü, who made a great pass that left everything to the magic of Neres' feet. The Brazilian accelerated through the middle of two Portimonense defenders, took Nakamura out of the play and, with nothing but happiness in front of him, shot into the back of the net (2-0, 57'). What a goal from David Neres!

If two (goals) is good, three is even better! Two minutes later... another goal for the Reds!

Benfica were truly on fire, and the scorers of the first two goals set up the 3-0 win. Neres flicked on Rafa, who, still hot on his heels, applied it again, from left to right, putting the ball to Di María. When it was expected that he would receive and control the ball, the Argentinian international, in all his class, simply tapped it in with his left foot, leaving the goalkeeper completely out of the picture (3-0, 59').

In the 66th minute, Roger Schmidt made his first changes: out went Neres and João Neves, in came Tiago Gouveia and Florentino.

The Eagles took their foot off the gas a little, but celebrated again. Tiago Gouveia dribbled down the left side of the attack, passed to Kökcü, and the latter fed Rafa, who deflected the ball into the net unopposed (4-0, 75').

This was Rafa's 17th goal of the season, 12 of which have come in the Liga Betclic.

The next minute, another emotionally charged moment. The 87th minute... for João Neves. The entire Estádio da Luz stood to applaud the 19-year-old, who lost his mother earlier this week.

With emotion all over his face, João Neves, who had already been substituted, got up from the bench and thanked the entire Benfiquista Family for their tribute and support!

In the next minute, the Man of the Match for Benfica-Portimonense, Rafa, gave way to Marcos Leonardo (89').

Two minutes later, referee Miguel Nogueira called an end to the match. Benfica won 4-0 and extended their unbeaten run in the Liga Betclic to 22 games.

The next matchday (24) there's a clássico at Estadio do Dragão, with the Eagles taking on FC Porto on Sunday, March 3, at 8:30 pm.

Before that, however, there's a derby in Alvalade, with the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final. Sporting and Benfica take to the field on Thursday, February 29, at 8:45 pm.