The final Lisbon Derby of the 2015/16 Liga NOS season concluded Saturday night at Estádio José Alvalade where Benfica beat their rivals from down the street Sporting CP 1-0 due to a goal in the 20' minute by Kostas Mitroglu. MitroGOLO (as he is often referred to as due to his ability to score) has produced 15 goals in 24 league matches making him the third best scorer in the Liga NOS. )
Prior to kick-off, it was reported that goalkeeper Júlio César would be out for 6 weeks due to a
training injury. Although 37 year old back up keeper Paulo Lopes was available, coach Rui Vitória
decided to put the pressure on the young 22 year old Ederson who made his Liga NOS debut at the
Lisbon derby. A similar situation happened during the 2013/14 season in which Artur Moraes was
replaced by 20 year old Jan Oblak for the remainder of the season.
In terms of similarities between Oblak vs Ederson there are a few. For starters, no one expected Júlio César to be injured prior to the most important game of Benfica's season thus giving the opportunity to Ederson. Secondly, both Ederson and Oblak disallowed goals in their debute Liga NOS matches. Finally, although both are young and seemed like inexperienced keepers, they demonstrate qualities of maturity and can be reliable to start. When Júlio César returns hopefully before the end of the season he will most definitely return to the net as Benfica's starter as he is still has a lot to offer. In the meantime, let's hope that based on yesterday's performance that Ederson (Oblak 2.0) will not fail the Benfica Nation.
During the first 10 minutes of the match, it was evident that both teams were aggressive towards each other and not settling for anything less then a victory. Jonas was taken down instantly by the Sporting CP defense inside the penalty area. Moments later during another Jonas breakaway, Sporting CP goalkeeper Rui Vitoria appeared to reach out and grab the Benfica Forward' feet. In both cases referee Artur Soares Dias did not award any penalties or fouls. Benfica broke the silence in the 20th minute as Fulham - loanee Kostas Mitroglu capitilized on a William Carvalho mistake / deflection in the penalty area which gave the reds the 1-0 advantage. Carvalho (not a defender) was simply trying to cover up the mistakes of the Sporting CP defensive line and their goalie Rui Patricio. Sporting CP were relentless and throwing everything they could to get back into this match. During the 26th minute captain Adrien Silva ran into Benfica full-back Eliseu inside of Benfica's penalty box area. Although Soares Dias could not see everything throughout the match, it was very important that he did not award Silva a penalty kick for his acting abilities on the pitch.
In the 39th minute Jefferson in a Renato Sanches-Esq style captured a shot outside of the Benfica box catching the top of the bar of the Benfica net. Sporting CP continued to apply pressure throughout the first half testing Ederson at least once more before half time. Their momentum continued into the second half as former Benfica player Bruno César missed a headed opportunity in the 54th minute. It was no doubt that Sporting CP dominated possession on this derby day.
Once again Ederson demonstrated a notable comparison to Oblak as he punched away the ball with confidence in the 68th minute. Sporting CP best opportunity to capitalize came in the 71st minute as Adrien Silva did not score on Benfica's wide open net reminding us all of World Cup 1994 when Baggio shot the ball over the net costing Italy the World Cup.
After many weeks, Benfica have finally claimed first place in the Liga NOS. There are still 9 match days left in the 2015/16. Benfica need to continue to be consistent and treat every game from now until then as if it were a final. Although FC Porto and Sporting CP have challenging away games ahead of them, Benfica must not worry about anyone but themselves.
Defending champions Benfica have now won 11 of their last 12 league games. Benfica have not won three consecutive Portuguese League titles since 1974/75 - 1976/77.
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