Benfica back to winning ways

Benfica 2-0 Belenenses

Benfica got back to winning ways when they downed cross-town rivals Belenenses 2-0 at the Estadio da Luz.

Luisao and Cardozo scored a goal apiece either side of the interval to give the Lisbon club a much needed win as they try to land a Champions League spot with only two fixtures remaining in the season.

After not having won in their last three league meetings, Benfica needed a result in order to keep their European aspirations alive and keep pressure on Sporting and Vitoria Guimaraes. The hosts started the match on the attack looking to catch the Blues off-guard with an early goal.

After being on the back foot for the first quarter of the contest, Belenenses eventually eased their way into the match and started to mount some pressure of their own.

For all the attacking intent both teams could muster, their touch failed them when it came to the final third of the pitch. Benfica came closest first in the 27th minute when goalkeeper Julio Cesar did well to deny Cardozo’s strong, well-placed header from finding the net.

Luisao rocket

The Eagles grabbed the lead late in the first half when Luisao picked up a bouncing ball in the Belenenses box and rifled a screamer in mid-air past Julio Cesar to put Benfica one up.

The guests almost equalized on the stroke of half-time as Rafael Bastos went one on one with Quim, but the Portuguese international goalkeeper came up big to deny the diminutive attacker.

Belenenses came out in the second half motivated to try and get themselves level and in the 54th minute Rafael Bastos beat Quim twice, but not the post as both of his strikes bounced back off the woodwork.

Benfica made their Lisbon rivals pay as Cardozo blew one of his trademark free kicks past Julio Cesar to score his 21st goal of the season in all competitions and double the home side’s lead.

Weldon came close to pulling back a goal in the 73rd minute with a header that went wide of goal. Then frustration set in as the game got ugly in the 77th minute when Hugo Alcantara was shown a straight red card for unsportsmanlike conduct as he slapped Katsouranis in the face right in front of the official.

Cardozo had an opportunity to notch a brace late on, but the Paraguayan failed to make proper contact to re-direct a Cristian Rodriguez pass with the net wide open. The win sees Benfica take full advantage of the defeat of Guimaraes to keep their hopes of finishing in the top three very much alive.

Benfica:
Quim, Nelson, Edcarlos, Luisao, Leo, Katsouranis, Nuno Assis (Luis Filipe, 75), Rui Costa, Cristian Rodriguez (Sepsi, 88), Nuno Gomes (Di Maria, 63), Cardozo
Yellow Cards: Katsouranis (81)

Belenenses:
Julio Cesar, Amaral, Rolando, Hugo Alcantara, Rodrigo Alvim, Gomez (Joao Paulo, 59), Ruebn Amorim, Ze Pedro, Silas (Candido Costa, 75), Rafael Bastos (Roncatto, 75), Weldon
Yellow Cards: Ruebn Amorim (76), Weldon (89)
Red Cards: Hugo Alcantara (77)

Goals:
[1-0] Luisao, 41
[2-0] Cardozo, 65