Benfica shared the points with Académico Viseu in the opening round of the Primeira Liga on Sunday evening. The match ended 2:2 after a contest that saw the home side take control and then watch their lead slip away. And here's the thing — you'd expect more from a team that had been scoring freely.
V. Pavlidis gave Benfica the lead after ten minutes, arriving at a moment that felt inevitable given their recent form. The hosts had won three of four and drawn one, looking sharp in attack. Académico Viseu responded with discipline, though yellow cards for A. Mestanza and A. Correia before half-time suggested the visitors were under pressure. By then, Benfica were comfortable with a one-goal advantage.
The second half brought a different story. R. Pereira pulled one back for the visitors in the fifty-fifth minute, and suddenly Benfica had to think about defending. G. Prestianni restored the lead three minutes later, but that advantage lasted barely a minute. Andre Clovis equalised in the sixty-seventh, and the momentum shifted. To be fair, Académico had made their presence felt.
The statistics told a familiar tale. Benfica dominated possession at sixty-two percent and created 3.15 expected goals, yet only converted two chances. Eleven shots on target and ten off target should have meant more. Académico managed just one point zero six expected goals but struck twice. They were efficient when it mattered, and Benfica were not.
Substitutions came thick and fast after the equaliser. Benfica brought on G. Sudakov and L. Barreiro, while Académico responded with Andre Clovis and G. Prestianni. The home side pushed for a winner but could not find a way through. Yellow cards for T. Araujo and I. Milioransa in the closing stages showed the tension, but neither side could break free.
Benfica sit fourth after four games with ten points, having won three and drawn one. Académico Viseu remain tenth with five points from five matches. The result keeps the home side in touch at the top, but the manner of it — dominating without control — might trouble José Gomes more than the points dropped.