At this point I hope we hold the tie.... Just like last season, cant hold a lead, always end games suffering...
Out coached plain and simple. Cant wait that long to make a sub. And when you make a sub, it can be petrovic. Didnt deserve to win this.
Benfica’s been the better team tbh, by far. Salin’s made some outrageous saves to steal this one from them
I dunno why we never went with Jovane. Benfica was pushing everything forward. Would’ve been nice to have some speed in space.
Salin - 10/10 - Made me forget Patricio today, what a monumental performance Ristovski - 7/10 - Was having a good game up until the Benfica goal, seems to have problems jumping on those crosses. Coates - 7/10 - Similar to Ristovski, was having a good game until their goal Pinto - 6.5/10 - Average performance, did his job Jefferson - 5/10 - Overrun once again, we can't have him starting the whole season. Battaglia - 7/10 - Handled the midfield well with Acuna for most of the game but started getting fatigued and overrun Acuna - 6.5/10 - Did alright in midfield, seems more tailored to this than a winger Raphinha - 6.5/10 - Provided that spark on the counter during the first half, disappeared in the 2nd half. Nani - 7.5/10 - Scored the penalty and demonstrated leadership Bruno Fernandes - 5/10 - last couple of games he's been non-existent. However I think after he got subbed out we missed his presence further forward. Montero - 6/10 - Didn't see a lot of him but his mobility provided something else than having Dost in an island up front. Peseiro - 5/10 - The coach got it wrong with his subs, our team sat deeper as a result and we were massacred towards the end.
Yeah Jefferson made me nervous a handful of times today If Ristovski played a perfect game, we win. Unfortunately his (and Coates) one moment of error cost us. But I thought he was great otherwise. Outside of him and Salin I thought it was a very mediocre game all around
All in all we came out the winners. We came away with a point when everyone thought we would get routed, Benfica and Porto drop points at home and we have some breathing room and we can start integrating Gudelj and Diaby. Side note: As much as Cintra has worked to give us a competitive squad amidst all the turmoil, I don't agree that he should be sitting with Benfica vice-presidents. We've officially cut relations with Benfica as an institution. Also, giving an interview on Benfica TV? Seriously?
Porto picking up a loss this early in the season is pretty big. The last few seasons the margin for errror for the champions has been so small. Either that trend is going to change this year or Porto is already behind there 8 ball.
Guimaraes has been unlucky the first 2 games. They have a strong squad and I can totally see them jumping to 4th, especially because Braga looks shaky defensively this year.
Cintra is a very conciliating an diplomatic man. I agree BTV is just ridiculous, even official Soviet media were more objective than them.
Exactly, Guimarães is a very interesting side. André André, João Carlos Teixeira, Tozé are all players who were not valued as they should have while at Porto who was punished for it today. Porto is going to have a bad season, the game against Belenenses had already exposed their weaknesses. Just a few seasons ago, Marega, Aboubakar, Corona, Herera would have been 2d or 3rd choices, now they are fan-favorites...But SC's magic won't work this season.
I was at cabin and couldn't stream video so could only listen to game.... Sounds like our goalie stood on his head most of the game and stold us 1 point!
http://www.okgoals.com/match-highlights-1535249999---33 Yeah, he made some great saves to keep it close.