Porto took the lead when Lucho González converted from the spot at the eleventh minute after a foul by Greek international Kostas Katsouranis. After a series of scoring opportunities and to the delight of the home crowd, Benfica leveled the match at one when Óscar Cardozo headed home a Hassan Yebda cross. Only three minutes later Kostas Katsouranis was excused for the night after his second card and Benfica was forced to play a man down. However while they had numerous opportunities they just couldn’t find the route to three points and the match settled as a draw.
Jesualdo Ferreira commented after the match of being pleased although he felt the Dragões had taken more of the initiative but were unable to finish positively against man-of-the-match Benfica ‘keeper, Quim. Most important mention for me is the robust and aggressive defensive structure that was shown which bodes will for the future. This will pay enormous dividends not simply with the defense of the league championship but within the Champions League. Within a group that contains Ukraine powerhouse Dynamo Kyiv, Arsenal and Fenerbahçe, this will be a critical attribute to seeing through to the next round.
Match Details
F.C. PORTO: Helton; Sapunaru, Rolando, Bruno Alves , Fucile, Fernando (Hulk 62′), Tomás Costa (Freddy Guarín 46′), Raul Meireles (Candeias 81′) , Lucho González ; Lisandro Lopez Rodríguez
Not used: Nuno, Pedro Emanuel, Lino e Farias
BENFICA: Quim; Maxi Pereira, Luisão, Katsouranis , Leo (Ruben Amorim 68′); Yebda , Carlos Martins, Di Maria, Aimar (Nuno Gomes 50′), Reyes, Cardozo (Sidnei 65′)
Not used: Moreira, Makukula, Binya e Balboa
