English
Benfica Stages Late Comeback to Defeat Nacional in Funchal
In a hard-fought match at the Estádio da Madeira, Benfica secured a crucial Primeira Liga victory over Nacional, although the home side’s resistance nearly caused an upset. Despite dominating possession (70% to Nacional’s 30%) and outshooting their opponents (30 to 5), Benfica found themselves facing a well-organized Nacional side that even took the lead in the 60th minute through a goal by J. Ramirez, assisted by Paulinho Boia.
The match was marked by physical play, with several yellow cards issued to both teams. The contest remained tense until the final minutes.
Just when it seemed Nacional would snatch the victory, Benfica responded with two late goals. In the 89th minute, G. Prestianni equalized the score, assisted by A. Dedic. And in the 90th minute, V. Pavlidis secured the win for Benfica with a goal, assisted by A. Schjelderup. Benfica earns three valuable points in their pursuit of the league title.
Substitutions benfica: at minute 58 R. Rego came in and G. Prestianni went out., at minute 64 E. Barrenechea came in and F. Ivanovic went out., at minute 77 L. Barreiro came in and A. Schjelderup went out.
Substitutions nacional: at minute 59 M. Nourani came in and Witi went out., at minute 59 M. Baeza came in and C. Labidi went out., at minute 78 J. Ramirez came in and L. Joao went out., at minute 84 Paulinho Boia came in and J. Silva went out.
The teams lined up as follows:
Nacional
Benfica
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