The ‘Leonine’ team only needs a draw at their rival’s ground, thanks to the goals scored by Pedro Gonçalves, in the ninth minute, and by the Swedish Gyökeres, in the 54th minute, to which the ‘Reds’ were only able to respond by the Norwegian Aursnes, in the 68th minute. , in the first leg match, played on February 29th.
Today’s clash will be the first of two Lisbon derbies in the space of five days, as the two teams will face each other again on Saturday, at the José Alvalade Stadium, for the I League, at a time when Sporting leads the competition with a point advantage over Benfica, having even played one less game.
The ‘eagles’, record holders of titles in the Portuguese Cup, with 26 trophies, are trying to reach their 39th final, while the ‘lions’, who have 17 scepters, are looking to reach the decisive game for the 30th time, in a venue where they already lost this season, 2-1, in the first round of the championship.
The match between Benfica, coached by German Roger Schmidt, and Sporting, coached by Rúben Amorim, starts at 8:45 pm, at Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, and will be refereed by João Pinheiro, from the Braga Football Association.
On Wednesday, Vitória de Guimarães, which has seven appearances in finals and won in 2012/13, hosts FC Porto, which won its 19th trophy in 2022/23, in 33 finals, in the first leg of the ‘socks’, from 20:15. The second leg will be played at Estádio do Dragão, on April 17th.
RPC // MO
