THE BALL – Caldas – Benfica in extra time: go LIVE (Portuguese Cup)
Benfica begins its journey in the Portuguese Cup, this Saturday, from Caldas, in Campo da Mata – with new grass, set against the clock, to be able to welcome the leader of the League and prevent him from working at a loaned home -, a match of the 3rd round (32nd finals), with kick-off time at 20.45 hours.
Face to face two clubs that, despite the obvious differences in size, have something to, curiously, unite them this season, the fact that they still haven’t lost.
Benfica, in 17 official games – nine in the league, four in the qualification for the Champions and four more in the group stage -, has won 14 and drawn (two against Paris Saint-Germain, both 1-1, and the other, to the Liga, in the visit to the stronghold of Vitória de Guimarães, without goals), boasting a intimidating nest egg of 41 goals scored against 10 wires.
Caldas, who compete two levels below, in Liga 3, in six matches (five in the championship and one in the queen competition, dispatching Covilhã, from Liga 2, by 3-0), that is, only a third of the disputed by the three already disputed, three won, the remaining draw and marking half of the three scored against three nines.
In the memory of a large part of the squad, there is still the brilliant course in the 2017/18 edition of the Portuguese Cup, when the Calderans fell only in the semi-finals, against Aves (then first division), which, later, in the final, beat Sporting , 2-1, with the lions still recovering from the traumatic and infamous attack perpetrated by about 40 supporters at the Alcochete Academy.
It should be noted that, at Benfica, the German coach Roger Schmidt, in addition to not being able to count on three players – the injured Morato and David Neres as well as Alexander Bah, due to illness – must, with expected naturalness, give rest to several of the units with More minutes on the legs and operating some rotation in the group under your orders.
Follow, here, all the emotions of the match.