An imperial thrashing!

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

A categorical display of unquestionable quality catapulted Benfica to a historic victory over FC Porto on Sunday, April 6, on matchday 28 of the Liga Betclic.

Benfica had never beaten FC Porto 1-4 on home soil, and the last time the Eagles had scored four goals against the Blue and Whites as visitors was on April 11, 1943 (82 years ago) with a 2-4 victory.

The facts of this Sunday's clássico are underpinned by a solid, cohesive and determined performance from Bruno Lage's men, who from the first second of the match set their sights on the opposition's net in search of the desired three points.

The line-up presented by the Reds' coach - Trubin, Tomás Araújo, António Silva, Otamendi, Álvaro Carreras, Florentino, Aursnes, Kökcü, Di María, Aktürkoğlu and Pavlidis - showed just that when, after 40 seconds, they opened the scoring after their first attack.  Pavlidis made a cross following a throw-in from Tomás Araújo, Álvaro Carreras collected, passed to Aktürkoğlu, and the latter crossed into the heart of the area from the left. Pavlidis slotted the ball home with his right foot with class (0-1). The move was initially disallowed due to Pavlidis' alleged irregular position, but the VAR's intervention confirmed the goal's legality.

Aursnes' dangerous cross to the far post in the 41st minute was another threat... and one that would be repeated in the 43rd minute, with success. Kökcü's short corner allowed Florentino to attempt a shot from outside the area, but the ball went to Pavlidis, who, on the left, received it, dribbled and sat down Nehuen Pérez, finishing neatly with his right foot (0-2). A fair result at half-time.

If the first half was more pragmatic and objective, the second half was an imperial extension of a performance of superlative quality.

After Dahl replaced Tomás Araújo, Benfica scored again... a historic goal, to be sure. In the 69th minute, Di María, close to the sideline on the left, crossed the ball wide into the center of the area, where Pavlidis, with a slight deflection, beat the opposing keeper (0-3). Pavlidis reached the hat-trick and became the first player in Benfica's history to do so at FC Porto's ground, adding the feat of scoring the club's fastest goal in clashes with their rivals, with his strike coming after 40 seconds.

In the 81st minute, Samu took advantage of Trubin's instinctive save after Fábio Vieira's shot from the edge of the box to finish and reduce the deficit (1-3).

Benfica, despite conceding the goal, controlled the game and Barreiro was already on the pitch (too) with that mission when Otamendi set up the result in the 90'+4'. Another free-kick from Kökcü, now on the left of the attack, to the far post, where the captain rose higher than his direct marker and headed successfully into the penalty area (1-4).

The Glorioso capped off a top-quality display with a goal, much to the delight of the tireless Benfiquistas, and with a historic result that maintains the team's winning streak in the competition, in which they have won nine in a row, totaling 68 points, in the lead.

Benfica will play again on Wednesday, April 9, at 8:45 pm., against Tirsense, at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos, in the first leg of the Portuguese Cup semi-final. In the league, the Eagles face Arouca on matchday 29, on Sunday, April 13, at 6 pm, at the Estádio da Luz.