Since 1907, Os Derby de Lisboa has divided Portugal’s capital, one side represented by the verde e branco of Sporting Portugal, the other identifying with os encarnados of Benfica. The tense affair pits the royalty and upper-class backed Sporting against Benfica, the everyman’s club of Portugal.
Despite the wide gap in the standings, this match had all the intensity and aggression you’d expect from Portugal’s most famous rivalry. Ultras had their say too, delaying the start of the second half by five minutes as they hurled smoke bombs onto the pitch. After 80 scoreless minutes, Benfica was able to break capitalize on Sporting’s defensive miscues for a 2-0 Liga NOS victory.
In this tactical analysis, we’ll examine the tactics used by Bruno Lage that led to Benfica’s quick start and Silas’ adjustments to control the middle. An analysis of Lage’s substitutions is necessary too, as Rafa Silva’s immediate impact helped Benfica regain their footing and led to the winger’s brace.
Lineups
Silas lined up his Sporting side in a 1-4-2-3-1 with youngster Luís Maximiano in goal and a backline featuring Stefan Ristovski, Tiago Ilori, Jeremy Mathieu and Marcos Acuña. Wendel and Idrissa Doumbia operated in a double pivot with Bruno Fernandes ahead of them. Yannick Bolasie moved to the left side of the field to make room for Rafael Camacho on the right. Rounding out the formation was Luiz Phellype at striker.
Bruno Lage set out his Benfica team in their typical 1-4-4-2. Odisseas Vlachodimos took his place in goal while André Almeida, Rúben Dias, Francisco “Ferro” Ferreira and Álex Grimaldo composed the backline. In the midfield, Julian Weigl and Gabriel Pires played central and more defensive while Pizzi and Franco Cervi operated on the right and left, respectively, pushing high into the half-spaces to support of Chiquinho and Carlos Vinícius.
