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Sloppy Benfica denied by late Wesley strike

Leixoes 1-1 Benfica

Benfica were only minutes away from registering a vital away win, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Leixoes. Cardozo gave the Eagles the lead in the first half, but in the dying moments of the encounter the home side pulled even through a Wesley goal to earn a well-deserved draw.

With a point going to each team, Leixoes are now in a three-way tie for second place along with Nacional and Estrela da Amadora with 10 points. Meanwhile, Benfica failed to go atop of the table with FC Porto, but remain in a tie for third place alongside Sporting with 9 points.

Some may argue that the Lisbon club were fortunate to have even earned a point as the team looked sluggish and sloppy throughout most of the encounter, but Leixoes, for all their determination and grit were unable to put away a host of opportunities, and that lack of quality up front may cost the team in the long run.

Reyes injury blow

It was bad news for Benfica right from the beginning as the team lost recent hero Jose Antonio Reyes to a leg injury as the Spaniard was substituted in the 8th minute of the game.

Leixoes were asking all the questions of the Benfica defence early on, as Wesley and Braga had good looks on goal, but credit to the visitors as they did well to soak up the pressure for the first twenty minutes.

From their first opportunity on goal Benfica hit the back of the net in the 33rd minute as Katsouranis found Cardozo on the edge of the box, with the entire Leixoes team standing still and expecting a whistle for a supposed foul moments earlier that never came. The Paraguayan made no mistake shelving the ball into the top right-hand corner to score his third goal of the season.

The goal seemed to unsettle the hosts as Benfica started to enjoy more possession up until the break. The second half started where the opening 45 minutes left off, with Benfica now putting Leixoes on the back foot, but the Eagles were unable to carve out any clear goal-scoring opportunities.

Wesley strikes

Just when it seemed the match would end in a one-goal victory for the visitors, Leixoes found their equaliser two minutes from full time as Brazilian striker Wesley headed a Hugo Morais corner into the back of the net to ensure the home side came away with a hard-fought point.

Benfica coach, Quique Flores, was unhappy with his team’s effort to say the least, but will have to wait until after the international break to have his men regroup for a home contest against Penafiel in the Portuguese Cup and then return to their domestic campaign when they host Naval.

Jose Mota was also displeased with the result, but for other reasons as he felt his team was the better side and deserved all three points. The Leixoes boss can put those sentiments to the test once again when the club host Canical in the Portuguese Cup before travelling to the Estadio do Dragao to face FC Porto in the championship.

Leixoes:
Beto, Vasco Fernandes (Paulo Tavares, 83), Nuno Silva, Elvis, Laranjeiro (Ze Manuel, 58), Bruno China, Roberto Sousa, Hugo Morais, Wesley, Braga, Marques (Diogo Valente, 68)
Yellow Cards: Bruno China

Benfica:
Quim, Miguel Vítor, Luisao, Sidnei, Jorge Ribeiro, Carlos Martins (Ruben Amorim, 66), Yebda, Katsouranis, Reyes (Di Maria, 8), Nuno Gomes (Binya, 84), Cardozo
Yellow Cards: Katsouranis, Quim

Goals:
[0-1] Cardozo, 33
[1-1] Wesley, 88