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Certainly, what did Jorge Jesús mean, negatively, by “knowing how to gain space”, when he spoke of the quality that the team did not have in Thessaloniki, because he did not recognize it in any of the Benfica forwards? He could be talking about runs between back and center, or between centers, oriented to depth, to compromise the defensive line and force it to stretch, attacking the back space so that there is more in front, where others can play. .
With this short phrase, it may also have meant that neither Seferovic, Vinícius or Darwin position themselves where they want, and how they want, to be glued in front of one side, with the supports facing inward, fixing it on itself and not. in the extreme of that side or, digressing even more, so many other variants, such as the one made by the Uruguayan-thousand-expectations for the million-thousand, just at 8 ‘.
The Uruguayan started in an aggressive diagonal from the left inwards, without the ball, in a three to three with the ball in Waldschimdt, the novelty of the German left-hander that created space to run and shoot at the side net of the goal. Eleven minutes later, Darwin Núñez first touched a ball behind the central defender’s back for the Germanic class to catch and finish off the goalkeeper.
Two actions, an open space, another shot with the ball and, in the third action, this one in the area and with a few square meters of grass to decide, in which he made a counter-movement pass to the pass that requested the quality of Taarabt , but it just brushed against him, already fighting. There Everton had already scored the second goal, almost a pass to the goal at the entrance of the area where all the Famalicão midfielders collected, to defend a low center by André Almeida.
In 21 minutes, Benfica already won by 0-2 because some of the things that made him lose weight in Thessaloniki had him, in Famalicão, fatter and filling up with time moving forward.
Because he played against a team that defended in a middle block, without aiming 30 meters from the field, but still having the first line of pressure still in the middle of Benfica. There was more room that, mixed with passes that circulate faster, and with the long variations and Gabriel’s air in exchange for the lower and more contained Weigl, it made the team have more people to receive between lines, especially Taarabt and Waldschmidt.
With more play on their feet, more players moved closer to the ball to equalize. The grapes of a cluster that broke in Salonika became the berries of a blackberry, together in the same fruit. The team was compact. And this Famalicão, which the daring João Pedro Sousa maintains bold in his intention to always leave behind on the pitch and with short passes, to attract pressure and create space on the back of those who press, also served him well.
Benfica leaned very high in attempts to build in the area, immediately put pressure on their opponents and, until the break, only allowed two, three outs to Famalicão. He recovered many balls in someone else’s field and benefited from Taarabt’s rocking horse, much more intense in stealing opponents, more reactive in regaining his position with Gabriel, another who quickly attacks his range of action when the team loses possession – different when his line is outdated and is required to cover meters to compensate. Before the break, a free kick from Grimaldo still curved the third goal.
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Benfica’s quality per capita continued to be noticed in every action on the ball, in every play in which it accelerated with just a few touches per meter of grass. They were, again, punishers in the exit of the ball from Famalicão, which originated the fourth goal made by Rafa, after some layers of rebounds and undefined in the area.
The home team, torn from what it was last season by entrances and exits, only at the moment of the game stopped being so surrounded – and so often fallen into the traps of Benfica – by the pressure of Benfica. Gabriel’s physical break was noticed, the Brazilian was already approaching his opponents and Famalicão’s attempts were already reaching Guga or Rúben Lameiras, the carriers of the team’s soul.
The second, in a private ball with Grimaldo without nearby players to cover him, broke the Spanish and crossed the first one, the only one who did not score in the area – Vertonghen had closed an attack at the near post and Gabriel focused his attention on where he was the ball. At Famalicão’s shout, a shout from Lameiras could still be heard, venturing from the right to the middle until he finished the ball off the post.
Benfica still had several plays with a final in the area, only fallible on the last pass, but thriving in building and creating with so much space and seconds behind that rivals rejoiced. The fifth goal came started in Taarabt, near the area proper, where the Moroccan simulated and dribbled to run under pressure, drove until he released at Waldschimdt, who followed the reception pass line to release at Darwin, ran to the right and run to the area where you went to catch the Uruguayan crossing.
Simple, fast movement, touching the foot and with clients showing up to receive inside while others moved to attack a space, as many have done before and found themselves, also against PAOK, Greeks who joined in 30 /. 25 meters next to his goal, cementing a low block, without advancing his block to try to activate the pressure where the Benfica midfielders received the first balls, as Famalicão always did.
João Pedro Sousa had warned that the team was not yet on point, they need time and they will have it, but he did play as usual, protecting himself away from the goal and taking the ball with a controlled step from the moment he left the field. goalkeeper foot. PAOK didn’t do it for days, and Benfica rarely had space, or managed to provoke it. In Famalicão he had it for the context, he managed to create it when he had it less, he took advantage of it as soon as it appeared and improved, in general, with it.
