FC Porto beats Benfica again and maintains pursuit of Sporting in the handball national championship – Handball

FC Porto won at Luz 34-29 this Saturday and added their seventh consecutive victory in the national handball championship, the third victory against Benfica in 30 days. The four-time champions remained two points behind Sporting (43), who beat ABC.

Without Diogo Rêma, who presented physical complaints, Nikola Mitrevski took over in goal and carried out a series of interventions that prevented the opponent from advancing more than three (7-4 and 9-6). Secured by the Macedonian and by the aim of Daymaro Salina or Fábio Magalhães, authors of a trio of accurate shots in the first half, the blue and whites recovered numerous disadvantages, leading by two (10-12) and only the exclusion of Nikolaj Laesso allowed Lisbon’s recovery at half-time (14-14).

Miguel Sánchez (five goals), Demis Grigoras (four) and Ole Rahmel (three) made up for Benfica’s many absences (injuries and punishments) during the first half hour and continued to do so at the start of the second, when the Dragons They scored five times and conceded just once, turning from 17-15 to 18-20. This partial would prove to be decisive, as would Rui Silva’s mastery, so that control of the scoreboard would no longer escape the title holders, who ended up winning 29-34.

This is followed by a reception to ABC in the penultimate round of the second phase (May 18, 3pm), before closing the championship at Pavilhão João Rocha, against Sporting.

Game sheet

Benfica-FC Porto, 29-34
Handball 1, 2nd phase, Group A, 4th round, May 4, 2024. Pavilhão da Luz, in Lisbon

Referees: Alberto Alves and César Carvalho

– SL Benfica: Gustavo Capdeville and Nikola Zoric (gr); Miguel Sánchez (7), Cristopher Hedberg, Bélone Moreira (3), Gabriel Sequeira (1), Ole Rahmel (3), Rui Baptista (1), Filip Taleski (3), Demis Grigoras (5), João Bandeira (2) , Ricardo Rocha and Guilherme Cabral (2)
Coach: Jesus González

– FC Porto: Nikola Mitrevski and Francisco Fontes (gr); Pedro Valdés (1), Victor Iturriza (3), Jakob Mikkelsen (1), David Fernández (1), Diogo Oliveira, Rui Silva (5), Daymaro Salina (4), Mamadou Diocou, Leonel Fernandes (3), António Areia (3), Nikolaj Læsø (6), Pedro Oliveira (1), Ricardo Brandão and Fábio Magalhães (6)
Coach: Carlos Resende

At half-time: 14-14