Benfica or Sporting: who will be the first Portuguese Cup finalist?

This Tuesday, Sporting defends a 2-1 lead against Benfica, in the second leg of the Portuguese Football Cup semi-finals, at Estádio da Luz, which will decide the first finalist of the competition in the 2023/24 season .

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 match of first leg, played on February 29th.

This Tuesday’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, with even one less game played.

The Eagles, who hold the record for titles in the Portuguese Cup, with 26 trophies, are trying to reach their 39th final, while the Lions, who have 17 sceptres, are looking to reach the decisive game for the 30th time, in a venue where they have already lost this season. 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.

Despite the victory in the first meeting against Benfica, in Alvalade, the lions’ coach keeps his feet firmly on the ground: “The result of the first leg will have no influence before the game.” However, he assumes that a positive result in the first of the two matches could be fundamental to the outcome of the tie, especially since a draw is enough for Sporting to move on to Jamor.

On the other side of the 2nd Circular, Roger Schmidt guarantees that the thought is the same: to be present in the much-desired final of the premier competition of Portuguese football. The Eagles’ coach assumes that the season is entering an “increasingly decisive” phase, but that his team thinks game by game.

Routes to the final

To reach the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup, the team coached by Roger Schmidt defeated Lusitânia dos Açores (4-1, away), Famalicão (2-0, home), Sporting de Braga (3-2, home ) and Vizela (2-1, away).

Sporting, coached by Rúben Amorim, eliminated Olivais e Moscavide (3-1, away), Dumiense (8-0, home), Tondela (4-0, away) and União de Leiria (3-0 , outside).

The grand final, which, as usual, will be played at the Estádio Nacional do Jamor, is scheduled for May 26th.