Benfica or Sporting. One of them will leave the Estádio da Luz this Tuesday (20.45, RTP1) as a finalist in the Portuguese Cup. This is the first of two derbies in five days – the rivals meet again on Saturday, in Alvalade, for the 28th round of the I Liga – and it is worth a place in Jamor and the opportunity to fight for a trophy.
The duel in the first leg of the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup resulted in a 2-1 advantage for Sporting (goals from Pedro Gonçalves and Gyökeres for the Lions and Aursnes for the Reds), so a draw is enough to guarantee a place in the final at the National Stadium on May 26th. In the 12 trips to the Estádio da Luz, for the premier competition, the Sporting fans achieved three wins, two draws (which is enough to pass today) and seven defeats.
Benfica will advance to the final if they repeat one of the three victories by two or more goals, which they achieved at home in the history of Cup derbies, and the reds’ four tangential triumphs will lead the discussion of the tie to extra time and, ultimately, , for penalties.
If Sporting has not lifted the Cup since 2018 and is looking for its 30th appearance in the final and its 18th trophy, Benfica has been starving from premier competitions since 2017 and wants its 39th final to reach its 27th cup. And if Roger Schmidt has the team at full strength, Rúben Amorim has Coates back, but he will be without Pedro Gonçalves, scorer of one of the goals that helped the Leonine team win the first leg, on February 29th, but which failed the last two games due to injury.
And will he recover for Saturday’s derby? “We will play with maximum strength in both games. I think it will be available, he also thinks so…he even thought he could play this one, but it doesn’t make any sense. He really wants to play, but we’re not going to risk it for a game because we have other players”, explained the Leonine coach, who is considering rotating the midfield at Luz.
Daniel Bragança played Hjulmand at Reboleira, against Estrela da Amadora (2-1 triumph) and was one of the best on the field. “Dani had a lot of growth. Koba is also an option, but Dani raised his game to a performance close to that of Morita and Hjulmand all season. Having a left foot gives us more options. I’m not going to reveal anything about what we’re going to present, but it’s an option. I can say that two of the three will be starters.”
If Sporting’s way of playing “is clear, so are their ideas”, but what makes preparation more difficult are the characteristics of the players they face: “Benfica has changed the characteristics of the forwards, if they play João Mário, Rafa, Neres, whether Florentino or a more creative midfielder then plays. This makes preparation difficult, but we know the importance of the game and we really want to be in the final.” Therefore, Amorim presents an eleven thinking about the way he plays and the fit with the opponent.
In the last four games with Benfica, Sporting always had an advantage but only won one. Is there anything that makes the team shake in these games? “We can see that we only won one but we also only lost one, which reveals a lot of equality. What we want is to get through the round, win and improve in these aspects. It is impossible for a team to dominate and control and concede 2-1. The team feels it, it takes time to adjust and then we suffered the second, which was cancelled. We didn’t feel the pressure because we always played well. We could have accused pressure in the game that could have given Benfica the title, not here. We are prepared to be better in these details”, replied the Leonine coach, analyzing the last derbies.
The game will be refereed by João Pinheiro, highly criticized by president Frederico Varandas in December. “The players have no idea who the referee is, I’m sure. It’s the referee who was chosen and we have to move on, that’s not why the result will be different. We are not a team to give the initiative to the opponent. We are a big club, which has to understand the moment of the game. We don’t know how to play any other way”, defended Amorim, without wanting to analyze the controversial arbitrations over the weekend and arguing that referees make mistakes, as do players and coaches.
Changing behaviors would be ideal, but that doesn’t mean it’s a solution: “I’m not going to pretend that I’m better than others. It’s part of the game. Would we have to be better? We would have. But sometimes we lose track a little. If everyone gets angry and fights outside the stadiums, imagine us who also experience things intensely. When the championships start to unfold, we know what it’s like. We complain and complain. And so. We all do the same”, he admitted.
Roger Schmidt needs goals, but he did not reveal who the striker chosen for the mission will be. Whether Arthur Cabral, Tengstedt, Marcos Leonardo or even Rafa Silva as the most advanced man. “We have several options, but of course we need speed and creativity, with important physical power. All strikers have their own profile, but we hope that everyone can perform similarly from a tactical point of view. We need individual quality from players and this is something that everyone has already demonstrated. I expect a game where we will also need to depend on substitutes. We have to be at the highest level”, said the Benfica coach in the short press conference previewing the Portuguese Cup derby.
According to the German coach, there are differences between today’s duel and the one in Alvalade, in which the Benfica fans were losing 2-0, but ended up reducing and relaunching the tie. “The first difference is that we play at home, the second is that it is an absolutely decisive game. This is an elimination competition. Everything is very clear. We are one goal down and we have 90 minutes to change the result. We are motivated and want to reach the final. We have to play a great game against a great team and show that we deserve to be in the final”, he explained.
Schmidt was then asked whether, in a week of two derbies, today’s one for the Portuguese Cup, it could influence the teams’ performance in Saturday’s game and in the rest of the season. “The closer to the end of the season, the more decisive the games become. We are in the semi-finals and we have reached the point where we can qualify for the final. In the championship we have seven games and this becomes increasingly decisive. It is extremely important that we stay focused on each game, otherwise it will be impossible to play in such a tight schedule,” he replied.
The other finalist will emerge from the duel between V. Guimarães and FC Porto, whose first leg is scheduled for 8:15 pm tomorrow, at Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, while the second game will take place at Dragão, on April 17th.
