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| Tuesday, 03 January 2012 23:01 |
Bwin Cup: Guimaraes 1-4 BenficaWins for Braga and Penafiel conclude first phase Benfica began their defence of the Bwin Cup with a 4-1 win over Vitoria de Guimaraes that, after a closely-contested first 45 minutes, got rather more comfortable for the Eagles following Pedro Mendes’ dismissal. A Cardozo brace sandwiched goals from Witsel and Rodrigo. Elsewhere, Braga defeated Nacional 2-1, whilst Penafiel were victorious at Portimonense.
With the title race as close as any in recent memory, Jorge Jesus rested a number of key players, drafting in Eduardo, Nolito, Nelson Oliveira and Saviola as Benfica began their defence of the competition they have won for the last three seasons. Rui Vitoria rested Nilson and Bruno Teles, but otherwise named a near first-choice line-up. A rapid start saw Benfica win both a free kick and a corner inside the opening four minutes, and the Eagles capitalised on their early pressure seven minutes later with a simple, well-executed goal. Nolito’s piercing cross field pass found Axel Witsel unmarked inside the Guimaraes penalty box, and the Belgian midfielder brought it down composedly and rifled home under the legs of Douglas.  Having conceded, Guimaraes responded by finally settling into the game, and pinning their opponents back for much of the remainder of the half. NDiaye somehow found the roof of the net from the edge of the six-yard box, whilst Nuno Assis and Paulo Sergio provided a number of tense moments for the Benfica defence. Despite the pressure from the home side, Eduardo, making just his fourth start since arriving on loan from Genoa, provided a reminder of his quality with a succession of key interceptions; both in the air and on the ground. The encounter took on a more disjointed quality as the interval approached, with a total of five players receiving cautions from the ever-attentive Bruno Paixao. It was Paixao’s awarding of a free kick for a Nolito foul that led to the equaliser three minutes after the restart. Anderson Santana’s delivery pinballed its way to Joao Paulo, and the centre back diverted the ball beyond Eduardo’s fingertips. Just as Guimaraes had responded positively to conceding during the first half, so did Benfica. Bruno Cesar and Nolito went close, and the Eagles were on top even before a second yellow card for Pedro Mendes, after a clumsy second bookable offence on Cesar, handed them the initiative.  It took the away side less than a minute to capitalise. Cardozo, on as a second half substitute, received the ball with his back to goal, shrugged off Joao Paulo’s challenge and curled a precise effort beyond Douglas. The numerical disadvantage began to take a visible toll on the home side during the closing stages, and Benfica struck twice more to put the outcome beyond doubt. Cardozo got his second of the half with 77 minutes on the clock, rising high to head home from a Maxi Pereira cross, and his fellow substitute Rodrigo nodded home from close range after Douglas could only parry the Paraguayan’s header directly into his path eleven minutes later. Guimaraes: Douglas; Anderson Santana, Joao Paulo, NDiaye, Alex; El Adoua, Pedro Mendes; Toscano (Leonel Olimpio 63’), Nuno Assis (Faouzi 88’), Paulo Sergio (Targino 72’); Edgar. Benfica: Eduardo; Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Garay, Emerson; Javi Garcia, Witsel, Aimar (Rodrigo 71’), Nolito; Nelson Oliveira (Bruno Cesar 45’), Saviola (Cardozo 45’). Goals [0-1] Witsel 11’ [1-1] Joao Paulo 48’ [1-2] Cardozo 65’ [1-3] Cardozo 77’ [1-4] Rodrigo 88’ Braga see off Nacional Before that, Nacional hosted Braga at the sparsely populated Estadio da Madeira. Despite the fact that the winners of the Bwin Cup are not allotted a European place, both coaches named strong starting line-ups. The return of Custodio to the Braga bench after almost eight months out with injury was the main highlight. It was his fellow midfielder Hugo Viana who conjured up the away side’s opener with ten minutes on the clock, finding Lima with a short reverse pass that split the Nacional back line asunder. Having timed his run perfectly the Brazilian made no mistake, and calmly steered his shot beyond Vladan. The remainder of the first half was largely uneventful, as Braga contained Nacional with ease, and might have added a second had their finishing been sharper. However, Viana’s conversion skills showed no signs of rustiness when with an hour gone he doubled Braga’s lead. This time Lima returned the favour from the first half, sending in a deep cross which Viana volleyed low beyond Vladan.  At that point the game looked dead and buried, but Nacional responded almost instantly with a fine strike from young winger Candeias. The 23 year-old received the ball 25 yards from goal, and angled an unstoppable shot beyond Quim’s grasp with impressive composure. Despite enjoying plenty of possession in the remainder of the encounter, Nacional were unable to repeat the trick, and Braga held out for a successful start to 2012. In the other Group C fixture, Penafiel were 1-0 winners at Portimonense thanks to a Pedro Coronas strike early in the second half. Related: Group standings / results / fixtures Ben Shave |
I think renewing Saviola’s contract was a great move. It didn’t seem like they would have been able to sell him in the winter and it would have been a waste to let a player of his experience/talent walk-away as a free agent in the summer. By adding that extra year to his contract they can sell him in the summer to make additional profits. I also got a feeling that if Rodrigo keeps putting on such great performances that a club will pay the buyout in the summer which will give Nelson more playing time.
Overall I think people are missing an import point, which is that Cardozo is back to scoring after such a disappointing last season. This guy continues to be one of our clubs best strikers in recent history and having him back in form is just amazing. I know this is one of the less important titles but it’s still a title and I would love to win it for the 4th back to back time.
Lets not go crazy about Nelson's playing time.
Cardozo is clearly the starter, and I would go as far to say that Rodrigo is his sub or first off the bench up front.
I am a bit surprised by Saviolas new deal, since I thought he would be gone this January. I do agree that Saviolas signing does not bode well for Nelson. It makes you wonder how he's been in training. I would also like to add that I was very unhappy with getting ousted from the Taca. It's "real" silverware and it would provide additional matches for Nelson and other youngsters. Now he really only has the "coffee cup".
at the world cup he played as a starter so fitness wasn't a problem. In benfica, he rarely plays so how do you expect him to be amazing when he plays one in 4 games or so?
The only way he will improve is when he starts getting some more match fitness time and thats only when cardozo, saviola or rodrigo get sold, so looks like we're going to have to wait a while, especially since they renewed their contract with saviola LOOOL!
Cardozo proved again that there is no doubt who our main forward is: he could've had four goals in that second half! I thought Emerson gave in a terrific performance too, full of running and always giving maximum effort. He is seriously improving from the start of the season, and makes up for his technical limitations with outstanding effort and drive. Nolito did well too and should be much more of a regular starter as most people agree. But i have to say I have not been very impressed with any of the performances I've seen from Nelson Oliveira so far this season. He needs more time quite clearly. Overall a great start to the new year, and if Sporting can do us a favour now against Porto (and get themselves back into the title-race in the process), we could be top of the Liga by the end of this week. Things are looking up in the new year....