Champions League round of 16. Bruges-Benfica 0-2: Joao Mario on penalty, David Neres

He hadn’t scored five goals in three years with the Inter shirt, stopping at four. Instead, he did them with his Benfica, only in this edition of the Champions League. Why also on this success of the Portuguese there is the signature of Joao Mario, cold from eleven meters to address the first leg of the round of 16 at Bruges. In the final it is Neres, taking advantage of a mistake by the defense, who mortgages the passage of the round. Bitter debut in the top European competition for Belgian coach Scott Parker: he didn’t pay for the decision to play without a central role reference in attack. Honorable mention, however, for Davide Massa and his assistants, protagonists of a clean and flawless direction.

Equilibrium

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With Jutglà not in optimal conditions, Parker chooses to deploy Lang in the center of the attack, also keeping Yaremchuk on the bench. Schmidt focuses on the usual forward Ramos, the trident is completed with Rafa Silva and Aursnes. It was the Portuguese centre-forward who immediately made himself dangerous in the 3′ minute with a header in the center of the area, which Mignolet however neutralized effortlessly. Bruges responded in kind and did so with Buchanan, perfectly primed by Mechele’s launch; his shot from a tight angle found Vlachodimos alert. For about twenty minutes the Belgians dominated the field, without being able to convert possession into chances. Those were created by Benfica in the second part of the fraction, first with a volley from Aursnes (24′) then with Antonio Silva with a header a few minutes later, without hitting the target in both situations. In the half hour perfect pattern on a free kick from the trocar, Joao Mario bowls for Rafa Silva who finishes from outside by hitting the post. The winger always makes room for himself in the area and shoots at the near post in the 34th minute, Mignolet keeps a good guard again and deflects for a corner. At the end of the first half, Bruges would take the lead: Odoi takes the lead from Lang’s free-kick, Mechele is on the trajectory and directs past the opposing goalkeeper, but Meli is exceptional in recognizing an offside position at the time of the serve, confirmed by the Var room .

The second half

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The second half began with a very similar goal for the Portuguese, with Grimaldo putting his knee wide from a few meters away. However, it was the prelude to the visitors’ advantage, which came from a penalty kick. Hendry, a former Cremonese, falls asleep on a loose ball in the area where Ramos pounces before him: the contact is foul and inevitable, Massa doesn’t think twice about assigning the penalty correctly. Joao Mario appears from the penalty spot, confirming himself as a certainty even if Mignolet touches and the ball enters with the help of the crossbar (51′). The rhythms drop and it’s an evolution that neither Schmidt likes despite the score, nor Parker who wants a draw. The coaches change at the same time, after twenty minutes: Neres and Guedes enter Benfica for Rafa Silva and Ramos, Nielsen enters Bruges in place of Odoi. In reality, not much changes, above all for the excellent application of the Portuguese in the defensive phase, in particular on the pressing and on the return of the wingers where the doublings are precise and punctual. Thus Buchanan, the most active of him, is defused and Lang is forced to range across the entire offensive front, sometimes even lowering himself a lot and consequently losing unpredictability, for a maneuver by Bruges that is never fluid. The race doesn’t seem destined for other emotions, but for the Belgians things get even more complicated. Aursnes suggests from the trocar towards Neres, caught between Mechele and Meijer; the latter misses the control and the Brazilian thanks, going undisturbed to sign the doubling (88 ‘). Da Luz can therefore prepare for the party, the quarter-finals are already in sight.