Chapter 352 Competing for the Portuguese League Cup
Although there were no surprises in the UEFA Champions League draw, it did not disappoint the Porto people. After all, only Porto and Villarreal were in the top 8. Porto only had a one-seventh chance to draw Villarreal. , the chance of getting a wealthy family is as high as six out of seven, complaining about bad luck is a bit too greedy. E novel Ww'W. %1XIAOSHUO. com
The quarter-finals of the Champions League are still early, and Porto's main task now is to win the Portuguese League Cup.
The Portuguese League Cup was established last season. The participating teams are all professional members of the Portuguese Football Association. The competition is divided into five rounds. The teams participating in the first round are low-level league teams below Portugal, and adopt a two-round knockout round.
The promoted team and the bottom 10 teams (including newly promoted horses) in the Portuguese ranking in the previous season will be divided into three groups by drawing lots, with three teams in each group.
The 6 qualifying teams and the top 6 Portuguese teams from last season will be divided into three groups by drawing lots, with four teams in each group. A single round-robin competition system will be adopted. .
The semi-finals and finals will be eliminated in a single game. If the two sides are tied within 90 minutes, a penalty shootout will be played directly.
The difficulty of winning the League Cup is not low, but the champion cannot qualify for the European competition next season, and winning the championship has no real meaning. The teams don't want to fight to the death in this tournament and affect the league. Therefore, almost all teams use the Portuguese League Cup to train.
However, in the final, because they are very close to the championship honor, whether it is the other Benfica or Porto who entered the final, they both pay more attention to the game.
Benfica lost hope of winning the league early in the league, and the Portuguese Cup was also eliminated, leaving only the Portuguese League Cup champion. They value this championship more than Porto.
March 21 at 7:45pm
The stands of the Dragon Stadium are already full of fans from all over Portugal, they all came to watch the Portuguese League Cup final between Porto and Benfica.
This is the first championship in Portuguese football this season. Although tasteless, it is of great significance.
With it, Benfica can avoid the result of all four, and Porto can also realize the dream of the Triple Crown.
For Gao Xiaodong, the Portuguese League Cup final has more practical significance than others.
According to the rules of the system, if the League Cup champion wins, Gao Xiaodong will be able to earn 2 system points, and in addition, he can also get a red envelope reward from the system.
After returning to Porto,
Scoring is getting easier and easier. After being promoted to the professional B level, Gao Xiaodong now has 12 system points, and two points for the League Cup champion will win a league game, which is nothing, but the red envelope reward is very attractive to Gao Xiaodong , He hasn't received a red envelope for a long time, Gao Xiaodong really wants to know, if he wins the League Cup this time, what kind of treasure will the system reward.
Playing at home, they are still playing against their old opponents. Porto played proactively at the beginning, ready to solve their opponents within 90 minutes.
Benfica played more aggressively than Porto. Although their strength is weaker than Porto, they can't die. In the national derby, even if they lose, they must not be persuaded. If they lose, Benfica fans can accept it. If they are persuaded, Will be scolded to death by the fans.
The lack of strength must be made up for by running. Benfica's running is very active. Except for Cardoso who is too tall in the frontcourt, he does not need to return to defense. Other big players like Aimar and Reyes are still Di Maria. Such potential rookies are actively returning to the front of their penalty area.
Porto's preparation for this game is not as good as Benfica's. The Champions League reached the quarter-finals, which made them a little disrespectful to their domestic opponents.
At the beginning of the game, Porto could still compete with Benfica, but after 15 minutes, their midfielders were divided and surrounded by Benfica. Gao Xiaodong turned around and felt that there were opponents around him. Find the spot to pass the ball.
Ferreira's expression on the sidelines turned serious. He didn't expect Benfica to play so well. It seems that the opponent is determined to win this championship. Ferreira sighed and felt that it is necessary to remind the captain Gao Xiaodong on the field, otherwise this will continue , I am afraid that Porto may lose the ball.
The on-site commentator said: Benfica is running crazy. It seems that today they are going to make a big news at the door of Porto. Di Maria is very active today. As the most popular newcomer in Benfica, there are already teams who have given him a kick. He spent 20 million euros, but he definitely can’t compare with Gao Xiaodong, maybe this is why Di Maria fought so hard today, he wants to prove that he is no worse than Gao Xiaodong...
Porto coach Ferreira had an idea, and moved a little slower. Before he could remind Gao Xiaodong, Benfica scored.
In the 20th minute of the game, Di Maria passed two people along the wing, and then singled out Porto right back Fucilai.
Fuxilai fought and retreated, wanting to wait for his teammates to come up to help defend, but Di Maria suddenly cut across and went directly to the penalty area.
Although Fuxilai moved across the past, he did not follow firmly. He did not believe that Di Maria would enter the penalty area from the side of the penalty area.
But Di Maria broke through very resolutely, and actually dribbled the ball into the penalty area. Facing Porto defender Sapruna who was defending, Di Maria dunked the ball and passed Sapruna. Ignoring his teammate Cardoso who was grabbing points in the middle, and even Reyes who was advancing forward from the front of the penalty area, he directly used the outside of his left foot to kick a curve ball and shot into the back corner of the goal.
Danger!
Outer instep!
It even shot!
It's better to pass the ball.
...
This was a very unexpected breakthrough and shot. Porto goalkeeper Helton was unprepared and could only watch the ball go towards the back corner of the goal.
Boom!
Di Maria was unlucky, and the ball bounced off the corner between the crossbar and the goal post.
At this time, the disadvantage of lacking experienced captain Alves is revealed. The young central defender Rolando is still in a daze, while the Benfica striker Cardoso has moved to make a follow-up shot. He headed a little and sent the ball in. Porto goal.
1:o
In the 21st minute, Cardoso made a supplementary shot to give Benfica the lead.
The noisy Dragon Stadium suddenly fell silent. Porto, which had won brilliant victories in the league and the Champions League, fell behind. Porto fans couldn't believe their eyes.
The on-site commentator said sternly: Porto didn't play well in the first 20 minutes of today's game. They seemed to underestimate the enemy and didn't take their arch-enemy Benfica seriously. These young people have forgotten that the national derby is always a different game. The state of the season is so bad. In the national derby, they will always adjust their state to the best. Fortunately, the time to score is relatively early, and Porto still has a chance to equalize. Next, Porto must get serious and go all out to win this season. The first championship trophy will boost morale for the next quarter-finals of the Champions League...
This was Gao Xiaodong's first time leading the team to participate in the championship competition as the captain. Unexpectedly, he was beaten with a sap in front of more than 40,000 fans at his door, and Gao Xiaodong was a little angry.
When the Benfica people were celebrating, Gao Xiaodong just wanted to call his teammates over for training, but Ferreira called him first.
Xiaodong, you can't play like this. This is not a competition for the championship. This is a national derby. It must be played as a national derby, otherwise we will lose.
Gao Xiaodong patted his chest and said, Don't worry, coach, the team will change soon.
Going back to the past, Gao Xiaodong immediately ran forward for 20 minutes and was not active, and several teammates who played football too showy were furious.
Quickly cheer me up, run, fight together, damn, playing football is not a dinner treat, we want the champion, we also want the scene, today we are going to abuse them, who will not run for a while, who will hide during the fight, you Immediately get off the court! The coach said that such a player should not participate in the Champions League.
Most of Porto's players are using Porto as a springboard to go to the five major leagues. They want to be favored by the teams of the five major leagues. Dare to neglect, the spirit is all up.