Benfica 3-1 FC Porto: Numbers are an illusion

Not unlike Atlético Madrid and Barcelona over in neighbouring Spain, Benfica and FC Porto met once again this season for the first of three upcoming Clássicos over the upcoming weeks, with the soon-to-be Portuguese champions resiliently (and enthusiastically) overcoming the incumbents for the Portuguese Cup.

Without Luisão, Fejsa, Lima and Markovic from the starting XI, Benfica coach Jorge Jesus proceeded with the squad rotation he's implemented throughout the second half of the season, with Salvio and Cardozo allowed to maintain their recent run on the team.

Even though this match was expected to be another installment in the hard-fought (and rather interesting) Clássico series since Jorge Jesus arrived at the Luz, it stubbornly progressed into a scrappy affair following Siqueira's dismissal on 28 minutes, at a time when Salvio had already put Benfica 1-0 up after Gaitán's beautifully delivered cross.

Jesus' men came out from the blocks with guns blazing, with Gaitán showing the team's intents on 20 seconds with a hard tackle on Danilo and signalling the intense pressure that would befall FC Porto. Benfica pressured Fernando, the Dragons' key man (namely through Rodrigo's tireless work), and kept their opponents from getting into their passing rhythm - a pattern that repeated until the home team found themselves in front.

FC Porto improved after the goal but mostly due to Benfica's purposeful dropping back, waiting for FC Porto to become unbalanced as so often has been the case this season. It is now impossible to assess if Luís Castro's charges would be able to turn things around under normal circumstances, but Siqueira's sending-off turned it into a moot question.

Despite being a man down, Benfica did not despair and were able to understand the predicament they were in and wait for the right moment, and the second half proved them right. A heroic display that will surely be remembered by most supporters might indeed be the springboard for what the team supporters hope will be a great ending to the season.

Rather than dwell on the game's minutiae (riddled with coach and player dismissals), we will now be turning our attention to specific tactical issues, as this column often does.

• Rodrigo

The Brazilian-born Spanish forward has been on top of his game for most of the season, finally realising all his vast potential by all accounts. With Cardozo (a striker made in the more traditional mould) playing instead of Lima, Rodrigo was asked to drop off a few yards, where he combined excellently with team-mates on the wings.

By acting in front of Fernando, the forward kept forcing FC Porto's holding midfielder to track him, opening up space for Gaitán to exploit. In fact, Benfica's superiority up until Salvio's goal was intrinsically linked to Rodrigo's forays into the flanks and the area in front of Fernando, allowing the Eagles' full-backs or wingers to appear unmarked.

• All about the pressing

It is usually said that football is a numbers game, in the sense that the team that takes correct decisions the most often will be more likely to win over time. However Benfica showed last night that there can be more than just the one interpretation. Even though FC Porto were a man up for more than a hour, the Eagles revealed how a well-drilled, disciplined tactical unit (not be mistaken for defence) is much more important than numbers in themselves.

While FC Porto pressed in rather disjointed fashion (Fernando would often be the first man to come out and try to get something out of the game), Benfica understood they couldn't press all over the pitch, but rather would have to pick their moments. The numbers-up situation did mean FC Porto enjoyed a greater share of the ball possession than would probably have been the case had Benfica remained with eleven players, but it did not mean FC Porto were able to trouble Benfica 'keeper Artur that much, which serves as a simulteanous testament of Benfica's persistence and awareness and of FC Porto's cluelessness while attacking, with the team seldom choosing the right option when presented the opportunity to finish play. Combined with FC Porto's absolute inability to take control in midfield, this was definitely the key factor to the match.

• Gaitán

It is by now undeniable that Nico Gaitán has been having his best season in a Benfica shirt so far and that he will probably not be calling Lisbon his home for much longer. The Argentinean seemed to be all over the place (and he indeed deputised as left-back while André Almeida did not come on) and he now blends his technical wizardry with much improved tactical awareness and a willingness to better understand what the match asks of him in each moment.

Despite starting on the left wing, Gaitán refuses (and is allowed) to limit his actions to the flank and has now become a maestro-like winger, realising where spaces have been cleared and roaming around the pitch almost at will. Juventus coach Antonio Conte should pay special attention to Benfica's no. 20, since he might be instructed to buzz around Pirlo and dictate play from the middle, rather than from the left.

FC Porto 1-0 Sevilla: Both sides fail to impress

After their 1-0 win against Benfica last week and the 2-1 defeat to Nacional da Madeira last Sunday, FC Porto were faced with mixed feeling towards the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie, but managed to grab a crucial (perhaps narrow) win against a disappointing Sevilla.

Unai Emery's team had previously gone on a good run (including the famous win against Real Madrid) but were stopped in their tracks over the weekend by Celta Vigo. Still, their European record were virtually spotless, with the Andalusians going undefeated in 14 of their last 15 Europa League matches. Conversely, FC Porto, despite the successive progressing, mirrored in Europe the porous defence they have been presenting domestically (conceding at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 6 Europa League outings).

The analysis of a few Sevilla's matches offered some expectations for this particular match: Individual marking from midfielders and a seemingly excessive reliance on Ivan Rakitic's brilliance. At the Dragão, the suspicions were confirmed, as the Croatian picked up Fernando, the Portuguese centre-back-cum-midfielder Daniel Carriço turned his attentions to Defour and Iborra kept an eye on Carlos Eduardo.

The home team piled on the pressure for the first 25 minutes, even though not as intensely as they did against Benfica (Herrera's presence on the bench certainly did not help), resulting in a succession of corners and half-chances - namely deflected shots or mishit clearances. Sevilla, in turn, seemed more than happy to concede the initiative and soak up pressure, waiting for the right time to pounce on the break (taking advantage of FC Porto's unbalance at times while attacking). However, the Spanish team didn't amount to much offensively throughout most of the match, bar the chance that came about through Fabiano's incomplete save cannoning off Jackson Martínez and Kevin Gameiro's mishit rebound.

• Sevilla go retro

If Sevilla's attacking intents didn't impress, the defensive approach was the most baffling. with individual marking that seemed to stretch throughout the match. This meant that the Spaniards often provided no or mistimed coverage when a team-mate was beaten in their individual duel, which in turn opened up a gaping hole in the middle for FC Porto midfielders to sprint into - when they got past Carriço and Iborra, their runs were not picked up by the centre-backs, exposing what could have been a gold mine for the Portuguese champions (which it wasn't).

FC Porto scored on the 31st minute through Mangala, moments after Sevilla's aforementioned half-chance that resulted from Fabiano and Jackson Martínez's scrambling. A corner kick in favour of FC Porto was shortly followed by a foul committed by a Sevilla player. Rather than taking his time, Fernando immediately dispatched it to the unmarked Quaresma, who made use of his trademark trivela to aim a perfect cross at Mangala's head, the French centre-back thus becoming FC Porto's top scorer in this season's edition of the Europa League, on 3 goals. His knack for aerial duels and important moments were once again most welcome (the Dragons, by the way, have scored 5 of their 9 goals in the competition via set pieces). Defour would put the first half to an end (similarly to what Quaresma would do to end put a stop to the contest) with a thunderous shot that forced former Dragon Beto to make a splendorous save.

• Second half: much ado about not... too much

In the second period the match opened up a bit more, with Sevilla looking more interested to taking some leverage with them for the second leg. Nevertheless, despite knitting a few more passes together, there was no real end product from La Liga's fifth-placed team, with the exception of Kevin Gameiro's glaring miss on 75 minutes.

The home coach brought Quintero on for Carlos Eduardo, supposedly to make the most of the game's traits - individual marking, poor defensive coverage, space down the middle - but the Colombian flattered to deceive once more. Herrera' also replaced Defour in an attempt to freshen things up, but the situation did not change that much (Ghilas' initiatives notwithstanding).

The second-leg match, to be held in a week's time, should provide a more open contest between two teams whose soft spots seem all too clear for the other side to see (and exploit). FC Porto will certainly find joy if they approach the match a bit more intensely (both in terms of pressing and dragging Carriço and Iborra out of position), while Sevilla may end up finding what they've looked for at the Dragão: the moments when FC Porto give the ball away and Rakitic has more freedom to roam.

As a side note, Jackson Martínez's absence might not be that hard to compensate, with the energetic Ghilas waiting in the wings, but Fernando's might be a bit trickier.

FC Porto - Benfica: Tactical notes from the Dragão

FC Porto and Benfica played the first of (at least) four matches in three different Portuguese competitions in the upcoming weeks (with the possibility of fighting it out in the latter stages of the Europa League). With Paulo Fonseca gone (and almost as good as forgotten north of the river Douro), Luís Castro has managed to turn things around and, three weeks into his tenure, things look and feel quite different at FC Porto. Rather than having a play-by-play account of the match, let us look at the most relevant aspect of last night's match.

• 1. Jorge Jesus' eyes set on the league

Benfica's coach was in for some heavy criticism after last season's less fortunate ending. In fact, most (perhaps all) Benfica supporters were demanding Jesus' head after defeats against FC Porto, Chelsea and Guimarães kept Benfica from putting their hands on any piece of silverware. Jorge Jesus seems less inclined to make the same mistake again and has been rotating his starting eleven with some insistence.

Therefore, Benfica's XI at the Dragão could hardly have surprised anyone paying attention to the signs over the past few months, which is not to say the Eagles presented a weakened side. In fact, as Tom Kundert eloquently put it, the fact that Jesus changed five players and was still able to count upon a potent XI is a sign of Benfica's strength and depth.

• 2. There is only one Enzo Pérez

Ruben Amorim is perhaps one of the most underrated Portuguese players. His flare of tally of goals and assists may never be enough to astonish anyone, nor is he the sort of physically aggressive holding midfielder that gets noticed through tackles and hard-fought duels. However, his game-reading ability and versatility make him an asset for any coach fortunate to count on him.

At the Dragão, Amorim was asked to play the part of one Enzo Pérez - probably Benfica's outstanding player throughout this season, alongside the Chelsea-bound Nemanja Matic and Rodrigo. Pérez has not only been instrumental in orchestrating Benfica's attacks . seemingly capable of providing passing options for his team-mates and progressing with the ball himself - but he has also managed to lending a much-welcome helping hand in defence.

Here, Amorim was somehow caught between a rock and a hard place. Instructed to stick to Fernando should the Brazilian drop back while FC Porto were trying to bring the ball out from the back, he often left Fejsa fending for himself against the re-energised Defour and Herrera, since the Portuguese midfielder could hardly be expected to cover all that ground.

On the other hand, his contribution in attack was not on par with is expected from a player in that position in Jorge Jesus' plan. Amorim lacks the technical skill and speed to create spaces for himself and his team-mates, particularly against such an aggressive midfield as FC Porto presented today. It is then easily understandable that Jesus chose to rest the Argentinean wizard for the upcoming (perhaps more important) battles rather than wearing him out some more.

• 3. FC Porto gradually finding their stride

For a side that looked all at sea not that long ago (perhaps even as late as the beginning of the current month) FC Porto have managed to get some good results under Luís Castro, even if a few displays have not been as solid as the results might imply. At Napoli the Dragons struggled for most of the match, but when presented with the opportunity to grab the result, they did not flinch and ground out the result they needed, like they've done so often in years past.

Here, FC Porto looked indeed rejuvenated, motivated and with an extra spring in their step. Even though it is true that Benfica were well versed in FC Porto's difficulties in their build-up phase, the Portuguese champions made the most of the early goal and slowly but steadily got into their groove. The Dragons knew this was an opportunity not to be missed and pounced on Benfica's troubles as soon as they smelled blood.

There are still some wrinkles to iron out, namely in terms of creating more chances down the centre (as Luís Castro aptly mentioned in a press conference that made unusual sense when compared to some of his predecessor's), but there are encouraging signs of reborn players, such as Jackson Martínez.

• 4. A proper midfield

It was becoming increasingly, painfully obvious that Carlos Eduardo does not possess the necessary skills to play in a 4x3x3 like the one Luís Castro has been implementing at FC Porto. Even though his creativity is helpful in numerous occasions, he is usually far too prone to switching off defensively for such a crucial piece in such an important part of the pitch.

He was replaced in the starting XI by the Mexican Herrera, from whom good things were expected since he was first signed, but who could never find his place in the squad or a decent string of consecutive matches. With a reborn Defour by his side, Herrera was brought on to pose a greater threat both in the centre and down the wings, according to the words of Castro himself. FC Porto coach also mentioned they were willing to relinquish some control in midfield in order to get some runs behind Benfica's back line.

That mission was thoroughly accomplished as Herrera and Defour took it in turns to run at Benfica's centre-backs, who were often unprotected since their midfield (often comprised only by Fejsa, since Amorim was trying to press Fernando up front) afforded their opponents too much time on the ball, enough for them to pick their passes at will. Without properly pressing the man on the ball, a high line is borderline suicidal and Benfica could have paid dearly for that.

Perhaps the most interesting development in FC Porto's new model is the fact that their players are playing much closer to each other. The player with the ball now has several passing options at his disposal nearby (with the exception of the back four, who sometimes struggle to find a team-mate or space to progress themselves), which not only contributes to more fluid passages of play, but also - and just as crucially - to a more expeditious reaction the moment the ball is given away. Previously FC Porto were far too vulnerable to opponents' counterattacks (be it Benfica at the Luz or Austria Vienna at the Dragão) that stemmed precisely from the huge distance that separated the players. Those days seem to be gone now.

Napoli 2-2 FC Porto: Dragons march on, despite initial struggles

Despite the 1-0 lead brought from the Dragão a week ago, FC Porto did not manage to avoid their fair share of suffering, but were still able to follow Benfica's lead and knock Napoli out of the Europa League, thus offering a precious contribution to Portugal's reputation in this competition and a crucial breath of fresh air for the Northern club.

It is usually said that Rome wasn't built in a day, which often applies to football teams as well. FC Porto's new manager, Luís Castro, has tried his best to reverse some of the bad habits instilled by his predecessor Paulo Fonseca, but a few weeks in such a crucial stage of the season are hardly the required time to radically change a team's overall approach.

With Helton Maicon, Abdoulaye and Alex Sandro all unavailable, Castro faced an uphill battle and was forced to reshuffle his defence heavily. With Fabiano in goal, Reyes and Mangala formed an all-new centre-back partnership, with Danilo on the right and the right-winger Ricardo deputising as left-back.

As for Napoli, Rafa Benítez chose to play a strong team (despite benching Callejón and Hamsik), with Pandev off Higuaín, and with the bustling Mertens and Insigne on the wings, shielded by Behrami and Inler in midfield.

• FC Porto struggle, Napoli thrive

The match's plot seemed bound to be rather one-sided and constant. With a midfield redesigned in a 4x3x3 formation under Castro, Fernando is now back to his favourite sole holding midfielder position. However, he's been at times oddly lethargic, allowing opposing teams to penetrate FC Porto's lines. Furthermore, both Defour and Carlos Eduardo replicated their behaviour at the Alvalade last Sunday and seemed oblivious to their defensive duties.

The (still) Portuguese champions looked unsure about what to do when the ball was in Napoli's possession: They didn't look interested in pressing up front but they still chose to play a rather high defensive line. Without pressing the man on the ball, FC Porto defenders did not step back and were therefore unable to control the team's depth and were vulnerable to balls over the top throughout the match.

To make matters worse, FC Porto defensive unit (not necessarily just defenders) keep being unbelievably lured into man-marking duties, leaving gaping holes all over the place for opposing teams to exploit (Danilo had a nightmare in that respect). The Portuguese side had a Bermuda Triangle on the left: Ricardo's inclusion at left-back (a player who has rarely been on the bench, let alone playing actual matches) was bound to be a liability in itself, but the fact that he was playing on the side of Carlos Eduardo (hardly the most defensively aware player) and Quaresma did not help matters much.

Napoli eventually scored the first goal on 20 minutes through Goran Pandev in a play that encapsulated the match almost to perfection. FC Porto were attacking themselves, near Napoli's penalty box, and gave the ball away for the umpteenth time. As they had so often done previously (and would keep on doing), the players got closer to the ball and didn't press, but their high positioning. A few seconds later, Higuaín had all the necessary time to turn and pick his pass, in front of a stationary defence.

Despite the difficulties when building up play out from the back, FC Porto – admiringly – kept their cool and tried to follow the new coach's instructions, keeping possession and failing to resort to the direct, pointless brand of football that had become so common over this season. However, the Dragons' initiatives yielded nothing more than a dangerous shot on 32 minutes, from a corner kick. The first half drew to an end with little hope of a more favourable scenario looming.

• Decisive changes from the bench

The second period started out in similar fashion, with Napoli often wreaking havoc less through their own merit than FC Porto's struggles with building up play and less than adept defending. The coup de théâtre started taking shape when Luís Castro replaced Varela with Ghilas and Carlos Eduardo with Josué in almost consecutive minutes. The Portuguese side immediately looked sharper and more dynamic, particularly given Josué's higher work rate and greater willingness to make himself available for his team-mates.

Nevertheless, it would be Ghilas to make the greatest impact by levelling the score on 69 minutes. Jackson Martínez's dropped back to pick up the ball and played it into Fernando's path, decisively unbalancing Napoli (perhaps for the first time). The holding midfielder provided a wonderful assist for Ghilas' left-footed clinical finishing and lit things up for the Portuguese team.

Napoli instantly became more anxious and disorganised, which – together with Josué and Ghilas' greater sense of urgency – allowed FC Porto to enjoy a spell of domination that culminated with Quaresma's wonder of a goal on 76 minutes, after some neat passing between Defour and Josué, something that was hardly ever seen during the first half.

The runners-up in last season's Italian league were not able to turn things around and only managed to avoid defeat on the 92nd minute, through Zapata, at a time when everyone had already accepted the result.

• Conclusion

Despite the impressive result over one of Europe's strongest teams (lest we forget Napoli were only eliminated by goal difference in a Champions League group that included Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund) led by a coach that thrives on European competition, it would not be wise to believe all's well as far as FC Porto are concerned. There remain a few important issues to address – namely in terms of midfield movement while building up play and of the defensive behaviours – particularly since the hardest, merciless part of the season is fast approaching, with another vital match against Benfica in less than a week's time.

Still, the signs of improvement are all too clear to deny and it seems Luís Castro's more level-headed approach is coming to fruition – yielding good results but, most importantly, more solid displays. If that is enough for the Dragons to reach their (secondary) goals remains to be seen.

PortuGOAL podcast now available

The latest installment of PortuGOAL's podcasts is now available, where we discuss FC Porto's crisis (or is it?), Benfica, Sporting's youth, Braga and Paços de Ferreira. Click here to listen to it.

Benfica-Sporting: The Preview

Tom Kundert from PortuGOAL and I have jotted down a few thoughts about next Sunday's Benfica-Sporting. Tom laid out the scenery, I spoke a bit about the absentees and their possible impact. You can check the piece out here.

The indivisibility of football

For years football was thought to be a simple issue - a matter of individual duels whose winners would end up deciding the outcome of any given match. That difference could admittedly be suppressed by "wanting it more" than one's opponents or "getting stuck into them".

Some years later the sport became the subject matter of theses and studies in universities - and thus rife with analytic, intellectual analyses, much to several coaches' chagrin. It was then that the sport was further dissected and the theory of football's four (tactical) moments first emerged: attacking organisation, transition into defence, defensive organisation and transition into attack (set-pieces would later become some sort of fifth moment to some).

Some top-level coaches have been honest enough in sharing their drilling mistakes over the past few years that may have led them to unsatisfactory results. One of the most common faux-pas consisted on working on one specific moment of the game (let's go with attacking organisation, for example, i.e. the time when a team has the ball and the other team is positioned in their preferred defensive positions) and dismissing the fact that football is in itself a fluid entity, where it's often quite hard to tell the four moments apart (is a breakaway a transition into attack or the way a specific team choose to attack?).

Overlooking that fact is usually detrimental to teams, because the instant the moment they've been drilled ends, they suddenly find themselves in uncharted territory, unaware of what to do when the next moment presents itself - a reaction that costs precious seconds and could represent the difference between a goal and winning the ball back.

• Attacking is not only about scoring goals

Instead of rambling on about theoretical concepts, it might be easier to speak about specific situations. Most of us often see commentators and pundits taking part in some sort of reverse-engineering of results: for instance, Barcelona lost 3-2 against Valencia last Saturday and it would be rather easy to blame the Catalans' defence - after all, they shipped three goals. On the other hand, it might be equally recommended to praise the visitors' counter-attacking capabilities - after all, their finish was so clinical they didn't even need that many opportunities to score the three goals.

However, it's probably much better to analyse what gave way to that specific outcome - the process. If we focus on the process(es), it will be much easier to pick up on what could be the team's vulnerabilities, even when they're winning. In Barcelona's case, it wasn't exactly hard to see such an upset coming, and that's where the tactical discussions bears importance.

Pep Guardiola's Barcelona created a blueprint for possession-based football that is now being copied all around, including at this beloved former club. However, it is not a particular brand that is easily imitated, because the risk of exposing your back line is extremely high. To be able to implement it successfully, one must think about the game as a whole - what do we do with the ball, where are we willing to give it away, what shall we do when we do give it away?

Guardiola used to say he wanted Barcelona to have the ball because they were rubbish at defending. Even though some of it was poetic liberty and an attempt to shed some responsibility off his players' backs, it was mostly true. Only by controlling the match in almost every way were they able to play Mascherano or Adriano or Abidal at centre-back, where their deficiencies were not laid bare.

Even though most of the praised lavished on Guardiola's Barcelona focussed on the free-scoring Leo Messi or Xavi and Iniesta's quasi-hypnotic passing, one of the side's most important features was their reaction to when the ball was lost - namely the 5-second rule that demanded the team to immediately close up on the opponent when they lost the ball. More often than not, they got the ball back and went about their business once again.

Nowadays, even though Tata Martino tried to adhere to some of his predecessors' guidelines, the side looks completely transformed, even though most of the players are the same. Instead of dictating the play, Barcelona's players assume that tiki-taka will be enough to impose themselves on opponents. The major problem happens because they do not abide by the same canons and therefore are more willing to play into other teams' hands. For instance, they cross a lot more frequently and, when the opposing side wins the aerial duel (as they often do, given Barcelona players' small stature), most of the team is too committed forward and unprepared for what is coming after the aerial duel.

Also, without the 5-second rule or some similar mechanism, Barcelona do not force other teams to make mistakes as soon as they win the ball back, which allows them to easily circumvent Xavi - not the quickest player around -, for instance, and exposes the team's centre-backs. Not only are the full-backs usually way high up the pitch, but there does not seem to be too much drilling in defensive even-numbers or numbers-down situation, which only worsens the situation.

In other words, even though Barcelona surely work on one specific moment of the game - attacking organisation - and may even be quite good at it, Tata Martino seems to be forgetting that the game is a continuum where one's strongest suit could quickly devolve into their own nightmare if they are not willing to work on what comes after it. By attacking on one's own terms, one should be able to control not only how the team goes about scoring goals, but how and where the team gives the ball away - and what ensues when they actually give it away.