Sporting CP 0 Sport Lisboa e Benfica 1 (Supertaça)

 

Sporting CP v Sport Lisboa e Benfica

Thursday July 31st, 2025

Estádio Do Algarve 

Supertaça 

The Warm Up

So finally after all the speculation about will he or won't he leave Sporting CP the deal has finally been done and Franco Israel has been announced as having signed for Torino. Parabéns Franco. Obrigado. You'll be missed… by Trincão at least. Oh and some other bloke has finally done a deal with Arsenal a day short of three weeks after it was announced the Londoners were in talks for his services. A deal which has reportedly cost his agent in the region of €7.5 million though I'll once more point out an agent under FIFA regulations is only entitled to 10% of a deal now if he is representing the selling club and you'll do nothing to convince me other than to pay me the commission that at any stage he has acted in the interests of Sporting CP as the selling club. I don't think there's anyone who hasn't been left with a sour taste in the mouth from his exit from a Portuguese point of view. For the player himself he's now missed three weeks of preparation and game time which he could have had if he'd turned up for training and still got his move and secured his legacy for all of time. Instead he chose to burn all the good will he had. He's lost a reported £2 million annually in wages. It cost him an additional fine of €330,000 from Sporting. He'll have lost endorsement deals because you'd not be clamouring to spend your advertising budget on someone who behaves in that manner, especially towards Inês Aguiar with whom his relationship appeared little more than a transactional commodity from his side. I just find the entire thing utterly bizarre from chosen course of actions and you can GUARANTEE his agent is going to be talking about something in 12 months time in order to either get that £2 million back in his clients pocket or to start engineering a move away from the Londoners to say a Real Madrid in 2027/28. Bookmark this post. Something will crop up I'm telling you now. Right the line is drawn under it. No, I lie. If and when Sporting draw Arsenal in the Champions League and he inevitably scores a hat-trick can I just saw how pissed I'll be if he doesn't celebrate after being a cock womble for the past three weeks. Damage has been done. Arsenal fans can moan all they like about Varandas but I'll only entertain the gripes of Torino fans at having their pockets picked for €4.5 million. Seriously, how have we banked that much for Israel? Did they scout him at any stage in the process? I've been guilty in the past of lamenting the lack of goals in Torino games the past two seasons. I've a feeling you'll see plenty more if Franco is between the sticks. 

Friday night saw Sporting win their second straight pre-season game, this time against La Liga's Villarreal at Jamor. The game finished 1-0 with Hjulmand taking over penalty taking duties and very successfully too may I add. Prior to the game the club announced the resigning of free agent João Virgínia. Great another player to remember where the Portuguese accented letter goes. Watch me butcher that for the next few weeks. Still his debut was far more successful than my attempts to spell his surname correctly and if he plays like that each time as a lion he'll be the perfect backup for Rui Silva who was apparently injured which is why he wasn't involved in the matchday squad at all. Hopefully nothing too serious. I don't remember him making any impact during his last spell and if we're being honest the fact he was unattached when we re-signed him probably speaks volumes for his career to date. However he did earn my man of the match which is never a good sign if I'm picking our goal keeper as the outstanding player. 

As the age old cliché goes it really was a game of two halves in Jamor. The lions looked bright in the opening 45 even if the penalty award appears fortuitous. They operated with a back 3 screened by Hjulmand and certainly appeared more defensively sound than they did against Celtic and Sunderland. The shift second half to a back four with an additional man a few yards further forward on either flank was an incredibly hard watch and any Villarreal fan coming away claiming they should have won handsomely would have me agreeing with them. Certain games under João Pereira were a hard watch but we still had some sort of attacking threat. The lion's first real forays into the Spanish box second half occurred in the final five minutes. I get that against Benfica and with a title on the line you'll protect a 1-0 lead but other than in the Dérbi, the Clássico or a European night, it's not a system you'll assume Sporting will need to be well versed in even after the departure of the Swedish Panza. Borges left with the same problem as Amorim at United in that he doesn't have the players to suit his system and philosophy. He was pragmatic enough to change back to the 3 last season and he may well decide it remains the better option. We will see once the season starts and whether or not the club have gone into the market for those players he wants. 

I spent a large part of last summer questioning why the club didn't go in for Jota Silva who instead went to Forest and Sporting are reputedly considering paying three times the cost of what it would have done to sign him last summer. As highly as I rated him during his last season at Vitória for that money it's not a deal I'd want to see the club do unless the sums were half those of the numbers currently being quoted. 

I have no real desire to rake the coals of the Taça de Portugal final in which Benfica would have you believe the result was one of the biggest criminal injustices in all of Portuguese history not just in footballing terms. Matheus Reis received a five match ban and *Debast and Quenda were also sanctioned with additional bans during the summer. As for Belotti, well he tried his level best to decapitate someone in the Club World Cup final. I did think it was highly ironic that if the Italian did suffer a concussion during the Taça final that writers conveniently left the part out where he was headbutted by Otamendi in a clash so violent that the Argentinian needed stitches to his forehead. No, definitely when Reis came down with his moulds on his ear. If I had a euro for every time I read someone use the word barbaric to describe the altercation I'd have had a lovely summer in the Algarve. Barbarism occurs in examples such as where hostages are decapitated. I'm not sure the Italian has much between his ears but his head was still attached firmly to his neck. I'm doing it again aren't I discussing something having declared I won't. The history books reflect that Sporting won the game 3-1 AET thus securing the league and cup double. Not a bad season all told considering we lost Amorim to Manchester United, had some appalling injuries throughout the season and two changes of coach after Ruben's departure. Runners up in the Taça da Liga and the Supertaça but let's be honest no one really ever remembers the side who lost. My hopes for this season are the same as last twelve months ago which were to defend the title better than they did the first time they won it under Amorim. I have no expectations for them to make it 3 from 3. Losing the mister is one thing as we did last time, losing the best player and top goalscorer in Portugal for the past two seasons is another level of difficulty entirely. Regular readers will know I like to prattle on about expectations management. At some point Benfica will regroup, Porto have already strengthened this summer and somehow have kept hold of Mora but I suspect he won't be there this time next summer. They've also changed coach but this isn't a Porto blog.

Right now from the off the lions have to take full advantage of Benfica and Porto's participation in the Club World Cup which has resulted in shortened breaks for their players and a lack of a traditional pre-season certainly in the case of the former who faced Fenerbahçe Saturday night in their only game before the Supertaça. They recovered from throwing away a 2 goal lead to win the game 3-2. Let's be honest neither side wants to ever lose a Dérbi but with Champions League qualifiers against Nice the following Wednesday and Tuesday after and factoring in that aforementioned lack of break or games for match fitness, they probably will be willing to write this game off. If the roles were reversed I'd have no issue with Borges doing the same. The potential loss of Champions League money even softened by Club World Cup money is too big a blow for the neighbours compared to losing the Supertaça to your biggest city rivals. 

This isn't the first Supertaça rodeo between the two Lisboa giants, this will be the seventh meeting in the competition. Confirmation that the game will be officiated by Lisboa's favourite referee Fábio Veríssimo. Benfica have already taken to social media to bemoan his appointment. See my posts from the two games at the tail end of last season for my views on their continued level of self entitlement. The irony being that large suaves of both the Sporting and Benfica support are convinced that the match official is biased towards their team. He was in charge for two losses for the Eagles last season including the 2-0 opening day defeat to Famalicão. One thing is for certain, whatever the result their fans will be moaning about one or more of his decisions. Nothing more certain than that, other than say death, taxes and Christmas coming once a year. 

So the neighbours summer has looked like this since we last met at Jamor; a 2-2 draw with Boca Juniors, a 6-0 hammering of amateur aide Auckland City and a creditable 1-0 win against German Bundesliga Champions Bayern München which secured qualification into the knockouts of the Club World Cup. Their run ended at the hands of eventually winners Chelsea who thumped them 4-1. 

The neighbours have had a big clear out this summer. Gone Portugal's highest paid player in Mr Spock lookalike Ángel Di María who left for Rosario. Arthur Cabral to Botafogo, Meité to PAOK and Jurasek to Beşiktaş. Do you think they call him Park by the way? João Mário joins Jurasek at Beşiktaş, Varela has been loaned to Gil Vicente and Gustavo Marques loaned to Red Bull Bragantino. Bugger me how many clubs do the energy drink giants have now in their stable? Wait, there's more, I said it was a big clear out. Andre Gomes joins newly promoted Alverca on loan, Kökcü to guess which Turkish Super Liga club? Correct, five points, Beșiktaş again! Alvaro Carreras to Real Madrid for a staggering £42m - let's hope no one has told the accountants at Manchester United who sold him for some magic beans. Almost done now, Adrian Bajrami on loan to Luzern, Luan to Al-Khor and Tengstedt to Feyenoord. Busy, busy boys. 

Incoming defensive reinforcements; Amar Dedic from RB Salzburg, Rafael Obrador from Real Madrid Castilla and Samuel Dahls move from AS Roma made permanent. Richard Dios from Palmeiras and Enzo Barrenechea from Aston Villa both listed as defensive midfielders. Clearly the neighbours so far think they have enough fire power up front. 

In terms of Portuguese coefficient points for European places we need all sides involved to have good runs this time around. This cause may be hampered by the inclusion of Santa Clara but don't write them off yet. Vitória were the surprise package in the Conference League under Rui Borges last season before he departed for Sporting and all points count. As mentioned above Benfica already having to try qualify for the Champions League which moves into the second season of the revised larger league group format. Another bad season for all clubs and Portugal becomes even more reliant on selling it's best talent than it already is which weakens the product and in turn revenue from broadcast markets. 

By the time we kick off on the Supertaça Sporting should have confirmed the signing of Luis Suárez from Almería as Gyökeres replacement. This if nothing else should take the pressure off Conrad Harder with whom certain sectors of the media will be clamouring to compare him with a certain someone. I'll keep repeating the same message, let him just be Conrad Harder. Football fans do have eyes and don't need spoon feeding comparisons. Marcus Edwards has never shaken off the weight of the Messi tag and for that matter neither did fellow ex-Sporting player Ryan Gauld. Both blessed with that low centre of gravity, neither have ever lived up to their potential. Maybe it added a few pound notes into their retirement funds but those comparisons raise the bar of expectations which is clearly never a good thing. Quenda taking the number 7 shirt seems a daft move in his last season and his cameos in the last two games have been sub standard and that's putting it politely. We now know what Chelsea think he's worth and that figure is currently about twenty times what I think he's worth. This is where we miss Coates, the sort of player and leader who'd have pulled him to one side before he goes out in public wearing defamatory t-shirts against the neighbours. Leave those things to the teenagers in the stands who'd all give their right arm to be where you are now otherwise in 5 years time the only ex-Sporting players you'll be compared to are the likes of Gelson Martins and Jovane Cabral. If someone is in your ear telling you that you're the new Ronaldo amd you're stupid enough to buy into that nonsense then you really need to start pulling those socks up and putting the hard work in because that boy did not get their by talent alone. 

* Since publication the one match bans for Debast and Quenda have been suspended allowing both players to be available for selection.

Transfer News

Sporting have confirmed the signing of 27 Colombian striker Luis Suárez from Almería for €22m. The deal could potentially rise to €27.41m with the Spanish side retaining 10% of any future sale. Last season he recorded his best ever goals tally with 27 goals in 41 minutes averaging a goal every 135 minutes.

The lions finally set to go Greek this summer after the debacle of 2024 with Georgios Vagiannidis set for his medical Thursday morning. I joked online he got himself sent off against Rangers to quicken the deal but as always I'm wrong. He still has to be registered Wednesday for the return leg so that he's not suspended for the first round of matches for Sporting. Win some lose some. Fee reported for now as being €12m. 

In the markets 

Sporting CP 9/5

Draw 9/4

Benfica 6/4

Surprisingly the eagles favourites for the win not factoring in the Champions League game next week and maybe instead going on LAG - Life after Gyökeres. 

In the markets for the title Sporting drifting out now to 23/20, Benfica 6/5, Porto 4/1 and still Braga et al 50/1 or above. 

Team News 

Allison Santos definitely misses the game through a suspension carried over from his time at União de Leiria. Also definitely suspended Matheus Reis after an attempt to overturn his suspension the motion filed to the TCA wasn't accepted. Maxi Araújo is fit for selection once more having recovered from injury.

Starting XI

Silva, Fresneda, Diomande, Inácio, Araújo, Hjulmand, Morita, Gonçalves, Trincão, Geny and Harder

Substitutes 

Virgínia, St. Juste, Debast, Quenda, Kochorashvili, Esgaio, Simões, Quaresma and Suárez.

Benfica 

Trubin, Dedic, Otamendi, Silva, Dahl Barrenechea, Barreiro, Ríos; Aursnes, Aktürkoglu and Pavlidis

Rui Silva fit once more and back between the posts. Virgínia is named amongst the substitutes with no place for Calai or Silva. Araújo is in for Reis, the latter of course suspended so no place in the matchday squad. Otherwise as you were against Villarreal. Kochorashvili is named back amongst the substitutes as is record signing Luis Suárez which comes as no surprise given he's yet to play with his new teammates. Another consequence of the Gyökeres drama dragging into a third week. I was surprised to learn that Gonçalves is now father to twins given he doesn't seem to be able to shoot anything on target let alone twice. He needs to up his contribution massively for me in tonight's game. 

With elections due at the neighbours later this season the positions of Rui Costa and mister Bruno Lage appear to be untenable long term especially given their only silverware came in last seasons Taça da Liga and more importantly losing out in the league and Taça de Portugal to Sporting. Whilst Borges' position in theory is the stronger of the two coaches, for now at least he seems intent on introducing a new playing system which the players show no real signs of adapting to and you could accuse him of trying to get the band back together as the lions continue to be linked with a succession of ex-Vitória players giving him a feel of being the Portuguese David Moyes. A win tonight for either coach should allow them some breathing room and for the loser the question mark over whether they finish the season in charge will continue to grow. Maybe both finish still in charge, maybe neither. Time will tell. Just a reminder that last season saw an unprecedented change of coaches at each of Os Três Grandes and Porto have already gone early with another change. 

First half 

Sporting in traditional green and white horizontal stripes. Fevered atmosphere as you'd expect for the Dérbi de Lisboa with both sets of fans expectant. A minutes silence for Diogo Jota and Andre Silva before kick off who lost their lives tragically in the summer. Benfica get us underway. Sporting attack right to left.

1 Lions defending in a line of five in the opening minute

2 Cross from the right cut out by the chest of Hjulmand and out for a corner. Barrenechea header out for a goal kick. 

3 Wild shot from 19 yards clears the bar from Aktürkoglu

4 GOAL Sporting CP 1 Benfica 0. The lions first attack results in a goal. Harder unmarked wide left squared a pass onto the foot of Gonçalves who tapped home from 4 yards. 

6 VAR check ongoing. Harder offside in the buildup. Sporting CP 0 Benfica 0

7 Ríos will fit in perfectly for the eagles as he rolls about post challenge by Araújo under the slightest of touches

13 Perfectly timed tackle from Araújo breaks down an attack in the final third 

14 Shove in the back by Dahl right under the nose of the assistant goes unpunished. That couldn't have been clearer 

15 Harder flagged offside again. Eagles playing a dangerous game with the youngster because we've seen what he can do when away. His temperament has been spot on tonight 

16 Trincão fires wide of the left hand post from 20 yards 

17 Big let off for Sporting. Inácio gets it all wrong and loses possession to Pavlidis. His pass across the box evades everyone and out to safety the far corner. Last season of course saw the Debast slice which saw Galeno score past Kovačević in the Sporting net to start the comeback for Porto. That mistake from Inácio was quite frankly even worse 

20 Morita certainly more present than he has been in his last two outings 

20 Trincão charges down like a seasoned midfielder and makes a key challenge 

21 Harder fires low from a narrow angle on the edge of the 18 yard box far side saved low by Trubin 

22 Dedić with a poor challenge on Araújo rightly shown the first yellow of the game with a lunging challenge from behind that brought down the Uruguayan 

24 Harder takes down Ríos. Free kick in a dangerous position headed clear by Fresneda. Ball comes back in from the right and Pavlidis heads over but flag was up

25 Reminder that last season the lions were already 3-0 up at this stage. Geny shot blocked for a Sporting corner far side 

27 Fresneda charges into the box surrounded by three red shirts. Just fails to find Harder. Gonçalves attempt blocked and out for another corner. Great run by the Spaniard 

28 Geny back on defensive duties calmly wins the ball in the final third and the lions bring the ball out 

28 Diomande shown a yellow for a shove on the chest of Pavlidis. Diomande pleads his innocence, Hjulmand wags his finger in the Greeks direction 

29 Wolf whistles from the Sportinguista's as Ríos shanks a shot well wide from 25 yards 

30 Araújo tries to dribble his way out the box. Loses possession but does recover to win a throw in and nullify any secondary threat 

32 Coming together between Araújo and Dedić. Corner Benfica. Dedić handballed in the buildup. Presumably Araújo politely pointing that out 

33 Geny clips a shot wide of the fat post from 16 yards far side of the box

35 Dedić with early ambitions for this season's Oscars as Araújo challenges and he throws himself down. Imagine the red side of the city never needs to go to the cinema with acting like this on display every week 

38 Dedić strikes from 20 yards. Presumably meant more as a pass buts misses everyone in the area and rolls out for a Sporting goal kick 

39 Geny rolls the ball across the box and Harder threw himself at it like Gazza in Euro 96 but couldn't get on the end of the ball 

40 Gonçalves gets a clip round the chops from Dedić. Laughs it off. Notice the difference between the two sets of players when touched 

41 Barreiro goes down under a challenge from Morita. Decision doesn't go his way. Levels the one with Fresneda earlier in the game 

42 Morita cuts out a cross for a corner near side

43 Diving header from Fresneda clears the corner for a throw 

43 Trincão down clutching his foot. Dedić stood on the top of his boot though no suggestion it was deliberate 

44 Fresneda shot blocked from 16 yards another attacking run into the box by the Spaniard in the buildup 

Plus two shown 

+1 Silva plucks the ball out of the air from an Aursnes cross. That came about from a Sporting mistake. Not sure if it was Araújo or Inácio who got caught out. Possibly the former 

Half time 

Sporting CP 0 Benfica 0 

Credit to both sets of players for a highly entertaining opening 45 minutes of football with little to separate the two albeit in truth neither goalkeeper has really had much to do. The eagles certainly thankful for Harder having been ruled offside in the buildup to Gonçalves disallowed goal. Dedić the stand out player for the visitors and Pavlidis again looks like he'll cause issues for a lot of defenders this season. 

Araújo looked in good form. He clearly loves a Dérbi and along with Fresneda has provided an additional attacking threat. Morita certainly looks vastly improved this game although I wonder if he's the legs to last a full 90 minutes. Geny really started to get involved in the game more from the midway point of the half and he's causing all sorts of issues for his marker out wide on the right. Gonçalves unfortunate to see his goal disallowed but pleased with his overall contribution and in addition his reaction to the hand in the face. Perhaps fatherhood will bring a positive change. Plenty of industry from Harder and his pass for the goal was inch perfect. Again his temperament tonight has been spot on after a few incidents in pre-season. Acutely aware this fixture brings more eyeballs. The lions just shading it at the break but by a whisker. 

Second Half

As we wait for both teams to come out a close up of a Benfica fan who looks the spitting image of Super Mario only he's in a flat cap. Presumably Luigi is a Sportinguista. Lions back out first, finally joined by the eagles a minute later. Lions get us back underway.

47 Ríos with the Renato Sanches passes to an advertising hoarding 

47 Morita flick finds Harder who fires a volley wide of the near post from 12 yards 

48 Trincão puts his marker on his backside. Tries to make room for a shot but it's blocked from 18 yards. Lovely play to watch in the buildup 

49 GOAL Sporting CP 0 Benfica 1. Sporting looked to have got away with one inside the area but the ball broke to Pavlidis who puts the eagles ahead with a sweeping strike which crept under Silva from 16 yards. Araújo at fault as his attempted clearance fell straight to the Greek who struck the ball first time. That's their first shot on target tonight. Shades of Braga in the Taça da Liga semi final in 2023/24. 

52 Yellow shown to Gonçalves for a foul on Otamendi who might need an ambulance by his reaction. Don't ever be fooled that he's a hard man. Harder was set clear and went down in the area in the buildup. Claim for a penalty waved away. 

53 Otamendi still down milking the challenge for all it's worth. Replay of the goal suggests Silva should have done better with the save 

54 Red card shown on the touchline. Not sure who that was too. One of the technical staff presumably 

56 Anyone would think this is a Dérbi with the atmosphere being created by both sets of fans 

57 Harder with a great turn to lose his marker but ran straight into trouble. 

58 What a save from Silva. Pavlidis struck from the D. Silva down low to his left to turn it around the post. That was top drawer and keeps the lions in this game

60 Half an hour from the lions to find an equaliser. There is of course a question mark over where the goals will come from this season. We'll see what mettle the players have. Eagles equal to everything right now 

62 Despite two red shirts in the final third we see the line of five in defence for the lions again

62 Trincão caught by Otamendi in the follow through of a challenge. He's back up but limping 

63 Barrenechea fires well wide from 20 yards. He and Pavlidis were wide open. Sporting leading a charmed life. The lions defenders run back in a central four and the Benfica players just stop their run on the edge of the box and create the space for themselves. School boy shit that 

66 Kochorashvili and Debast both set to come on 

66 Araújo draws the foul from Aursnes in the far corner

67 Gonçalves over the ball. His free kick into the six yard box headed clear 

67 ➡️ Kochorashvili, Debast and Suárez on

⬅️ Harder, Diomande and Morita off 

69 Inácio concedes a corner far side. Araújo is down on the edge of the box. He's struggling 

70 Silva spills the ball but recovers. My heart still works

71 Ball gets stuck under the feet of Suárez inside the box and Benfica clear  

72 Otamendi clatters Geny. How is that any different to the Gonçalves challenge?

72 Belated yellow show to Otamendi 

72 ➡️ Quenda replaces Araújo who had been struggling last five minutes 

73 Clever flick from Suárez found Trincão but he ran into a wall of red shirts on the edge of the box 

74 Trincão brings a diving save from twenty yards low to Trubin's left 

75 Substitutes having a positive effect for the lions 

76 This game has shades of the 1-1 in da Luz with the eagles this time around on the back foot content to defend their 1-0 lead 

76 Sporting getting closer. Gonçalves gets it all wrong in the centre from a Trincão cross. Don't know if he headed it or chested it from 8 yards but Trubin smothers the ball. Think if that was on his foot it was 1-1

78 As it stands the lions look the more likely to find the next goal. The question is can they?

79 Replays show Gonçalves did head the chance. The ball beat the defender and maybe he wasn't expecting it as it was more ball to head than head to ball 

79 Changes for the visitors 

80 Hjulmand yellow for a foul on Ríos who clutches his back. Dane's not buying that for a second and gives a sarcastic reaction to his yellow 

81 Didn't catch the second word from Fresneda. Possibly this but the first word was definitely fuck. You won't get lip reading on any other minute by minute 

82 Suárez shot blocked inside the box

82 Corner Sporting near side 

83 For all the impetuous the lions had they seem to now be running out of options 

84 Corner far side Benfica. Shot from 20 yards deflected off Hjulmand. Prestianni with the effort 

85 ➡️ No Dérbi goal for Geny tonight as he's replaced but Esgaio

85 Quenda now on the right. His effort from 25 yards going wide before it hit Trincão and out for a goal kick 

86 Borges four minutes plus change from his first competitive defeat as Sporting coach 

86 Goal scorer Pavlidis withdrawn. Dedić leaves far side. Both sides made all their changes I think. Wasn't really paying too much attention to the visitors changes in fairness

87 Gonçalves wins a throw far side. Coming together in the box. Suarez penalised for a foul on Ríos. The Colombian felt that should have gone the other way 

89 Benfica take it into the corner. Esgaio knocks it out for a throw 

89 No fire drill tonight unlike in Jamor 

Plus six shown 

+1 Silva yellow presumably for time wasting 

+1 Debast brings the ball out from defence, found Suárez who found Fresneda wide right. Corner near side. Good play from back to front 

+1 Not sure who the Benfica player down was but clearly looking to see if the referee was looking his way and then starts the play acting 

+3 Is it worse to lose a Supertaça having been 3-0 up or to a goal that squirms under the keepers body?

+3 Trubin down. Same old Benfica with the time wasting antics. Didn't do them much good in the Taça de Portugal did it?

+3 Another red shown on the touchline. If I could speak Portuguese I'd tell you who it was to 

+4 RED St Juste? He's the player with the camera focused on him right now.  

+4 Esgaio moves his hands giving it the you talk too much to one or more of the opposition players 

+5 Yellow to Trubin presumably for time wasting 

+6 Debast goes through the back of someone in front of the bench. Another red card shown. One of the technical staff for Benfica. Referee showing another yellow to someone off the pitch. St Juste is still sat on the bench so presumably he wasn't the one sent off a few minutes ago 

+7 No idea how long is left. The referee said he didn't want it to be about him in his press conference yesterday. I call bullshit 

+8 Corner conceded by Debast . They're in no hurry to take it 

+8 Double yellow to two of the Benfica players. Veloso and Prestianni as they try stop Sporting collecting the ball behind the goal.

Full time 

Sporting CP 0 Benfica 1 

The final word

Question mark over whether St Juste was the player shown the red card. Given he was still on the bench I'll say no he wasn't. Typical of a Dérbi, Fábio Veríssimo went Postman Pat on us in the last ten minutes and it was near impossible to keep up. The end result the first defeat for Borges as the mister and Benfica return back to Lisboa with the bragging rights. This was Braga Taça da Liga semi final mark II. Only takes one goal to win a game. You can argue whether it was a deserved win or not but it matters little, the result stands. 

It didn't take a rocket engineer to calculate that the lions main problem this season would be how to replace Gyökeres goals. Had the Gonçalves goal counted it's a different game entirely but as the kids say it is what it is. Question mark over a foul on Trincão in the area second half but I'd have to watch it again to see if there was any real shout for a penalty. Again with the decision that went against Suárez when Ríos was given the decision. *Shrugs shoulders.

Credit to Sporting they actually played better than I had envisaged and were more open than in recent fixtures between the two sides but had that goal not been chalked off I'd have probably been writing something totally different now. Silva made an incredible second half save which made up for his blunder with the winning goal. Get them all out the way before the season starts properly. That's him, Araújo and Inácio with the box ticked. I said it last season, I'll say it again, it's the Portuguese charity shield. I care very little for having lost two in a row. Let the records reflect Sporting Clube de Portugal league champions 2023/24 and 2024/25. Fuck you very much. 

So let's try to pick through the bones of a somewhat chaotic game. Defensively I worry about the lack of man marking. The charging back in a line and the ease with which their forwards figured out if we simply stop here we'll have loads of space was a head scratcher. Are the midfield supposed to pick people up at that juncture? If they are maybe they'll need it re-iterating to them. It's one thing at corners to go zonal, another entirely in open play. Inácio and Diomande not at their best tonight and I don't think Hjulmand really moved above a 6 at any point. 

Fresneda’s performance attacking wise was really pleasing especially as we seem set to sign the Greek in his position. A message laid down to the mister that he'll very much have to take the spot from me. Same on the other side a good performance from Araújo who still looks like he's missing that overall match fitness but I was happy with his contribution minus the pass for the goal. Same with Morita who probably should have come off after the hour mark. 

Trincão was entertaining in parts of the second half in the same way Geny was in the first but their roles seemed to interchange either side of half time and with the pairing the danger is always that they want to occupy the same type of space. I'll even give credit to Gonçalves. He had a little eye roll second half but actually his body language was so vastly improved from seasons past that you can only suggest fatherhood is doing him the world of good and maybe he's learning to grow up a bit. Finally! Same with Harder though in fairness he's still a pup. He's going to be a key player this season though oddly it could be as playmaker and racking up the assists. Half chance second half from the Morita flick on but in fairness he was always reaching for the ball before he made contact. He never gives less than 100% and you can't ask for more than that. 

Suárez will need time to adjust to life with his new teammates and build the understanding. You can't expect it after a couple of training sessions. He's got big boots to fill we know that but he showed his got a quick brain on him and a good first touch as he looked to play his teammates into space, in and around the box. 

I've seen us play far worse against the eagles and get battered. I didn't think much of them at all and no change in their tactics for attempting to get opposition players booked and time wasting. If that's how they want to win games then so be it. Worked tonight but it's not attractive to watch. Better off staying and watching your kids when they're in pre-school. Certainly cheaper on the pocket and same level of tantrums and rolling about. 

Of the substitutes Debast didn't have much to do but what little he did have to do he did well again. Kochorashvili with the same issues Morita had last couple of games. Could have done with some game time against Villarreal. Looks a little short on fitness right now. Esgaio, no complaints and his winding up of the Benfica players is worth the admission alone with the little hand gestures giving it the yack, yack, yack. Quenda with one memorable run from the right but had little impact and his shot which was going wide and clipped Trincão summed up his performance. I've deliberately not watched anything of Suárez prior to tonight. Too early to judge what impact he'll have up front. One thing is for certain someone needs to step up and at least have a 20 goal season this time around. If he can do it, Gonçalves, Harder and Trincão get you 10 a piece well maybe all is not lost. 

Right let me give you four possibilities for man of the match. Geny, Trincão, Fresneda and Araújo. I'll immediately discount Araújo for giving the ball away to Pavlidis for the winner but I like watching him. I like his industry, his commitment and he's entertaining to watch though his first half was way more positive than the second half. Same goes for Geny, was dangerous in the first half and unlike Quenda he can use his pace to run to the byline and cut the ball back. He just needs someone on the end of them. But he doesn't get the vote either. Which leaves Trincão and Fresneda. Trincão didn't really get started until midway through the first half but he certainly was in the middle of most attacks second half. The bit of skill to put his marker on his backside was top drawer. Had a good chance which brought the diving save and Sporting will need that kind of industry if they're to get anything out of this season. Also really impressed with his run back in midfield first half and the challenge to win the ball back. Thought Fresneda had a good game again throughout. Two great runs into the box, the one which nearly found Harder and the other resulted in a blocked shot. I had it in my head to give it to the Spaniard before I picked my final four, I wavered with Trincão but sometimes you go with your gut. Fresneda is my man of the match. 

I'll see if I can unravel the mystery of the sending off at some point. St Juste listed as being booked in the 7th minute of additional time.