Vitória 0-3 Benfica: No let-up from Eagles in titanic title battle | OneFootball

Benfica responded to Sporting’s win yesterday by beating Vitória 3-0 in Guimarães to make it level pegging on points again at the top of the table between the two great Lisbon rivals with four matches left of the 2024/25 Primeira Liga season.

Vitória had only lost one game at home all season at the Dom Afonso Henriques stadium and were unbeaten in the league in their last 10 matches under new coach Luís Freire. While the scoreline flatters Benfica in a well-disputed match, Bruno Lage’s men ran out deserved winners thanks to the clinical football they played where it matters most – in both areas.

Vangelis Pavlidis continued his superb form by bagging a brace and Álvaro Carreras also got on the scoresheet, but Benfica were indebted to goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin who made two world-class saves at crucial moments in the game.

Vitória start strongly

In the match of the weekend in Portugal, Vitória were expected to provide a stern test for Benfica and the opening minutes confirmed those forecasts. Benfica were happy to cede possession and play on the counter-attack, allowing the home team to take the initiative early on in front of their notoriously fanatic supporters.

Telmo Arcanjo had an early sighter at goal but could not get a clean connection on a dangerous cross by Tomás Handel. Tiago Silva was probing, trying to feed his namesake Gustavo Silva on the left flank, while the combative Nélson Oliveira was making a nuisance of himself but Vitória could not find the final pass.

Lethal breakaway

Benfica took the lead midway through the first half with a devastating counter-attack. Pavlidis began the move with a wonderful switch of play from the right to the left flank, Turkish pair Atktürkoglu and Kökçü progressed the ball forward and there was the Greek striker at the end of the move to stroke the ball into the net.

The goal settled Benfica and simultaneously knocked back Vitória for a short period. Pavlidis had the ball in the net again soon afterwards, but this time from an offside position and the goal did not count.

Home team pour forward

But the hosts were soon back on the attack. In the 34th minute Vitória won a free kick wide right. Arcanjo’s pinpoint delivery was headed towards goal by centre-back Filipe Relvas, with Trubin making a brilliant save in Manuel Neuer style, showing arms of steel to somehow deflect the header from point-blank range over the bar.

From the resulting corner the Ukrainian was again called into action, saving from Vitória’s other centre-back Mikel Villanueva.

The busy Benfica goalkeeper then turned a long-distance effort from Oliveira over the bar. Gustavo Silva shot wide and as the half-time whistle went the home players may have felt aggrieved they were losing.

Silva & Silva try their luck

The pattern of the match did not change greatly in the second half. Vitória won two free kicks in dangerous positions just outside the box, but twice Tiago Silva’s efforts were blocked by the wall.

Gustavo Silva just failed to get on the end of an inviting Miguel Maga cross and Nuno Santos sent a dangerous header narrowly over.

In the 77th minute, Benfica again broke to devastating effect. Andreas Schjelderup, who had come on for the injured Ángel Di María, released Álvaro Carreras, the Spanish left-back going on one of his typically marauding runs, cutting into the box and firing a fierce shot into the net at the near post. 2-0 to Benfica and their fans were singing in the rain in Guimarães.

Trubin pulls off miracle save

To their credit Vitória did not give up and with ten minutes remaining looked certain to reduce the deficit, substitute Jesús Ramírez’s shot leading to a miraculous one-handed save from Trubin.

While Trubin was covering himself in glory at one end of the pitch, the same cannot be said of his counterpart Bruno Varela. Criticism of the Vitória goalkeeper for Benfica’s second goal may have be debatable, but he should have done far better with Kökçü’s free kick in the 83rd minute, spilling the ball hit straight at him with Pavlidis needing no second invitation to score his second goal of the night, Benfica’s third, and end all doubts about the result.

With Benfica cruising for the last five minutes, there was even time for Florentino to be purposely admonished with a yellow card upon instruction from Bruno Lage in the dugout. The midfielder will thus miss next week’s home clash against AVS, when he is unlikely to be missed, but is clear for the following two matches, away at Estoril and home to Sporting.

Di María injury worry

The only sour note on an almost perfect night for Benfica was a recurrence of Di María’s thigh injury, which may put the Argentine at risk for the Lisbon derby in May.

That match is increasingly looking like it could be the crunch moment in an exhilarating title race.

Vitória 0-3 Benfica highlights

Vitória (4-2-3-1): Bruno Varela; Miguel Maga (Bruno Gaspar, 81’), Filipe Relvas, Mikel Villanueva, João Mendes; Tiago Silva (Samu Silva, 81’), Tomás Handel; Telmo Arcanjo, João Mendes, Gustavo Silva (Nuno Santos, 56’); Nelson Oliveira (Jesús Ramírez, 46’)

Benfica (4-3-3): Anatoliy Trubin; Tomás Araújo (Leandro Barreiro, 72’), Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva, Álvaro Carreras; Luís Florentino, Fredrik Aursnes, Orkun Kökcü (Samuel Dahl, 84’) Ángel Di María (Andreas Schjelderup, 53’), Vangelis Pavlidis (Andrea Belotti, 84’), Kerem Akturkoglu (Bruma, 84’)