Benfica completed their third consecutive league win with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Morayense at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Wednesday evening. The result extends their unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions and keeps them top of the Primayra Liga standings, four points clear of their nearest challengers. We had tipped the visitors to win at 46 percent confidence before kickoff, and they delivered exactly what was expected, if not quite at the level of their previous matches.
Benfica took the lead on the stroke of half-time when a penalty was awarded after a VAR check. Clément Lenglet brought down an attacker in the box, and Vangelis Pavlidis converted the spot-kick in the 45th plus four minute. The hosts had Gilberto Batista cautioned just before the break for a late challenge, and Alexandre Parsemain picked up a booking shortly after for dissent. Benfica were already playing a man up by then, having switched to a back three at half-time to control the tempo.
Andreas Schjelderup doubled the lead in the 55th minute with a composed finish after a well-worked team move. Gianluca Prestianni added a third shortly after, finishing off a counter-attack that caught Morayense sleeping at the back. Fredrik Aursnes made it four in the 72nd minute, heading home from close range after a cross that the home defence failed to clear. Benfica had already brought on six players by the 66th minute, enough to signal they were not interested in running out the clock.
The statistics tell the story, though the numbers alone don't explain how Benfica moved the ball so effortlessly. They dominated possession with 74 percent, created six big chances against the hosts' single opportunity, and registered 9 shots on target compared to Morayense's 1. Expected goals tallied 2.99 for Benfica versus 0.39 for the hosts, and those figures reflect a game where the visitors kept knocking on the door until the woodwork splintered. Morayense managed only 26 percent possession and failed 76 passes, while Benfica completed 628 of their 699 attempts.
Morayense sit 13th on 4 points from 4 games, while Benfica move up to 4th place with 10 points and a goal difference that reflects their attacking intent. The hosts have now lost 2 of their last 4 and face a difficult run ahead, while the visitors look increasingly comfortable in their pursuit of the title. By then, this result will have been analysed to death, but the truth is simpler than the breakdowns suggest.
