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Benfica suffered their first official defeat of the season in Braga (0-3) and, immediately after the end of that league match, Roger Schmidt made his mind clear. “This match is over, now our reaction will be important,” said the German coach of the eagles, in line with the statements of Alexander Bah, Benfica’s Danish right-back who, even after the end of the match against Braga, recalled that the team is still in first place in the competition, but that he and his teammates will have to prove that “men are”.

The first training session of 2023 is scheduled for today and the next match will be next Friday, at home, against Portimonense, still valid for the championship. And the goal is to give a strong response after the heavy defeat suffered in Braga.
Minus in very important

Looking at various statistics from the match against SC Braga, there are indicators that help explain Benfica’s gut punch. Schmidt said he believed the team was “disconnected”, “losing many duels” and “slow” in the last third of the opposition field. In fact, the Eagles were less aggressive, which netted Braga 55 interceptions during the game, against the 36 managed by Benfica. And Benfica also left the match with fewer offensive duels won than their opponents: 68 against 71. The eagles recovered fewer balls (81 against 88) than Minho’s team, who finished fewer and worse (10 shots, three on goal, against 16 at SC Braga, six in the frame), he made fewer assists on shots (eight, against 11 at the opposite side) and all this lower offensive capacity, combined with defensive permeability, then translated into defeat for 0-3. Benfica have not lost a match since 7 May 2022, in a 0-1 home draw against FC Porto in the league. And he concedes three goals only to Juventus; and would win 4-3.

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The year started in the worst way for Paris Saint-Germain, who suffered their first defeat of the season this Sunday in Lens, losing 1-3.

After Benfica’s 0-3 defeat in Braga last Friday, only PSG remained a team without a defeat in 2022/2023, a take that ended on the first matchday of the year, in their 24th game, after 19 wins and four draws.

Looking at the main European leagues, Napoli now have an enviable season in Serie A to play, as a team without setbacks: 13 wins and two draws for the Neapolitans, who however have already lost against Liverpool (0-2). in the Champions League groups.

João Neves made his official debut for Benfica in the defeat against SC Braga (0-3), on the 14th matchday of the championship, and he recounted the feat on social media.

«It wasn’t the result I wanted for my Benfica and for my debut. However, when I arrived at Benfica in 2012, my dream and goal was to make my first-team debut one day. Yesterday, after 10 years of hard work, learning and dedication, I succeeded», he began by writing, before looking to the future:

“It will certainly be the beginning of the most important cycle of my life in the service of the club of my heart,” he concluded.

The 18-year-old midfielder, recently renewed until 2028, had already added minutes for the Eagles’ A team in a friendly against Sevilla.

This season, João Neves also played six games for the juniors, in the Youth League, nine for the under-23s and one for the under-23s. The midfielder also played in the under-20 Intercontinental Cup, which Benfica won against Peñarol. Last season, the midfielder was also part of the team that won the Youth League.

The young Argentine midfielder Mateo Tanlongo, 19, has not yet been formalized as a reinforcement for Sporting, which will happen at the beginning of the year, after the end of his contract with Rosario Central, but he has already made friends in the Leonine team, also because is in Portugal a month and a half ago.

Proof of this is the fact that he spent the New Year with some of his new companions, namely the Uruguayans but also the South Americans Coates, Ugarte and Franco Israel, as well as their respective families.

The photo of the moment was shared by Captain Coates on social media. «A very happy 2023 to all! May this coming year be better than the one that ends!», wrote the defender.

Abel Ferreira watched, on Friday, the match between SC Braga and Benfica, 14th round of the championship, won by the Minho team (3-0).

The current Palmeiras coach, in statements to the Minho media, said he was happy with the ‘return’ to Braga, underlined that it was in the warriors of Minho that “everything started” and also commented on the victory of SC Braga against Benfica.

Abel Ferreira moved to the technical command of SC Braga between April 2017 and July 2019. Before taking charge of the A team, the coach commanded the Arsenal players.

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The Portuguese Marco Silva, manager of Fulham, who with this Saturday’s victory, for the 18th round of the Premier League, against Southampton (2-1) moved up from tenth to seventh place in the standings, praised the team’s performance by Craven Cottage (London) on this day, in which a goal by João Palhinha, almost on the final whistle, earned the victory.

“It is definitely a great result for us. Big three points for us, in a difficult game, as we expected: even with them at the bottom of the table, we knew that Southampton have good players and they could punish us at one time or another, with set pieces or counter-attacks and distractions, as they have done. I think we deserved to win, even though we didn’t play at our best», Marco Silva told reporters at the press conference after the match in London.

“We ended 2022 well, with a win. It was a very special year for the club and team, with promotion to the Premier League. First of all for the fans: they enjoyed the games of the previous season and continue to do so in this one too, with very different challenges. Let’s all stick together. There was a good atmosphere in our stadium, Craven Cottage, and that support was important for the team,” underlined the Portuguese coach, still at Craven Cottage.

As for Palhinha’s goal, almost as the curtain fell, Marco admitted a particular flavor… for a coach who saw the opposite, his team punished with goals allowed at the end of the game. “Now it was our turn to savor a great moment, deciding the game in our favor: in the two matches in Manchester, against United and City, we lost at the last minute, fortunately now it’s been the other way around,” he recalled.

With the team in seventh place, Marco Silva does not raise the bar and thinks about UEFA. “We have to be realistic in these situations. We are an ambitious company, but we know our reality and the type of competition we are involved in, as well as the value of our opponents. Now he was bottom of the standings and they saw our difficulties. We are unable to change the objectives set at the beginning of the season one iota [manutenção]. It is keeping your feet firmly on the ground and preparing well for the next match », he said, quoted by the club’s website.