Benfica reacted to the disappointment of their elimination in the Europa League and returned to winning ways in the I League, this Monday, against Farense (1-3), at the São Luís Stadium, and are still chasing the leader Sporting, seven points behind with only 12 more to play for.

The Eagles took the lead through Kokçu (16') and, despite the Algarveans' equalizer in a great goal by Belloumi (23'), they responded shortly after with a goal by Arthur Cabral (34'), with a backheel.

In the second half, Álvaro Carreras scored his first goal (67') and ended up putting Benfica on the right track in Faro, staying seven points behind their rivals, with four more rounds to play, despite the slim chances of reaching the lead. The reds also took revenge for the draw against the Lions of Faro in the first round (1-1).

Always on the move

Roger Schmidt opted to make five changes to the starting eleven compared to the game in France, with Carreras, Kokçu, João Mário, Tiago Gouveia and Arthur Cabral coming in for Aursnes, João Neves, Rafa Silva, David Neres and Casper Tengstedt. José Mote made two changes, replacing Facundo Cáseres and Bruno Duarte with Fabrício Isidoro and Zé Luís, respectively.

The Eagles entered with personality and, after shots from Ángel Di María and Arhur Cabral to test Ricardo Velho's attention, they ended up scoring the first goal in the 16th minute, through Orkun Kokçu. The Turkish midfielder, after going through a difficult period for asking for more minutes, took advantage of Alexander Bah's pass and only had to tap in for the first of the match.

Soon after, Kokçu came close to scoring again, but it was at the other end that new reasons for celebration would arise at the São Luís Stadium. In the 23rd minute, Belloumi 'shot' Trubin's goal in a move of insistence and left the home fans in a state of pure 'madness'.

The game calmed down, but only for a short time, since, in the 34th minute, Arthur Cabral put Benfica back in front of the scoreboard with an artistic note, taking advantage of another assist from Bah to shine with a backheel goal.

This time, the incarnate team showed no difficulty in reacting to adversity and even came close to reaching the third, first in a beautiful play by Di María and then in a shot to the post by Arthur Cabral. However, until the break, the Algarveans still threatened to equalize through Fabrício Isidoro and Zé Luís.

Carreras sentenced the doubts

The return from the locker rooms did not bring great opportunities and the truth is that it was necessary to wait for the first moves to appear the first great occasion, which would even be the decisive goal of Álvaro Carreras, in the 67th minute, in what was his debut goal, after a pass from Di María.

With David Neres and João Neves already on the field, the latter would end up being replaced ten minutes later, due to a head clash with Ponde that left the young midfielder complaining. In addition to the substitute Aursnes, Roger Schmidt also put Marcos Leonardo and Rollheiser on the field, while José Mota refreshed the midfield and the offensive sector in search of something more, but the result did not change.

With this result, Benfica now has 73 points in second place, seven behind the leader Sporting (80) and 11 more than FC Porto and Sporting de Braga (both with 62), with only four more rounds to play. Farense remains in 10th place, with 31 points, the same as Rio Ave and Gil Vicente, just three above the waterline.

[News updated at 10:19 pm]

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Lineups

Farense: Ricardo Velho, Pastor, Igor Rossi, Gonçalo Silva, Talys Oliveira, Cláudio Falcão, Rafael Barbosa, Fabrício Isidoro, Mohamed Belloumi, Marco Matias and Zé Luís.

Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin, Alexander Bah, António Silva, Nicolás Otamendi, Carreras, Florentino Luís, Kokçu, João Mário, Ángel Di María, Tiago Gouveia and Arhur Cabral.

Preview

Four days after being eliminated from the Europa League, against Olympique Marseille, Benfica returns to focus on the I League, this Monday, with the trip to Farense's home ground, in pursuit of Sporting, despite the (very) small margin to cancel out the ten-point disadvantage to the leader in the final stretch of the competition.

In the preview conference, Roger Schmidt did not hesitate to admit the difficulties in fighting for the two-time championship, also guaranteeing that he will not give up, as long as it is mathematically possible. José Mota does not forget the draw obtained at Luz (1-1) in the first round, but warns of the reaction power of a 'great' to a disappointment.

It should be noted that the Algarve team has not lost at home for almost two months, arriving at this match after a draw in Guimarães, against Vitória SC (1-1), still fighting to escape the relegation places, so this is also a warning for the Luz emblem.

The truth is that Benfica enters the field practically 24 hours after having seen their rival Sporting transform the seven-point advantage into ten points, so the mission will 'necessarily' be to restore that difference to seven points, at the start of the last four rounds. In case of a 'stumble', scenarios of a possible green and white party will quickly be fueled next weekend.

The game is scheduled to start at 8:15 pm (Continental Portugal time) this Monday, refereed by Gustavo Correia, and you can follow the match live on Desporto ao Minuto.

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