Benfica Handles Maritimo with Ease in Primeira Liga Matchup

In Match Day 24 of Primeira Liga, Benfica had a dominant performance against Maritimo, winning 3-0. The first goal came at the 45th minute when D._Neres scored for Benfica. Joao_Mario then added to their lead five minutes later with another goal for Benfica. D._Neres then scored again at 57 minutes to seal the victory, giving Benfica a comprehensive 3-0 win.

Line-ups:

Maritimo Marcelo Carné (rating 7.3) Cláudio Winck (rating 5.9) Zainadine Júnior (rating 6.2) Moises Mosquera (rating 6.5) Vitor Costa (rating 5.9) Renê Santos (rating 6.3) Stefano Beltrame (rating 6.7) André Vidigal (rating 6.3) Bruno Xadas (rating 6.7) Léo Pereira (rating 5.9) Pablo Moreno (rating 6.6)

Benfica Odysseas Vlachodimos (rating 6.9) Alexander Bah (rating 7.6) Nicolás Otamendi (rating 7.9) António Silva (rating 6.9) Alejandro Grimaldo (rating 8) Florentino Luís (rating 7.3) Chiquinho (rating 7.5) João Mário (rating 7) David Neres (rating 8.2) Fredrik Aursnes (rating 8.3) Gonçalo Ramos (rating 6.6)

Substitutions:

Maritimo P. Liza (Leo Pereira, 61) B. Riascos (S. Beltrame, 61) F. Correia (A. Vidigal, 77) E. Costa (M. Mosquera, 77)

Benfica J. Neves (D. Neres, 81) P. Musa (Joao Mario, 82) A. Schjelderup (F. Aursnes, 90) C. Tengstedt (G. Ramos, 90) Gilberto (A. Grimaldo, 90)

Ball possession:

The match between Maritimo and Benfica was an intense one, with the latter having more ball possession at 57%. Maritimo still managed to make 8 shots on target and 2 shots on goal. Zainadine Júnior was the most active in terms of the number of shots for Maritimo. On the other hand, Benfica made 20 shots on target and 9 shots on goal with João Mário being their most successful player in terms of hits on goal. In the end, Benfica emerged victorious.

Passes:

Marcelo Carné and Cláudio Winck of Maritimo faced off against Fredrik Aursnes of Benfica in a gripping match. Marcelo Carné had an impressive passing accuracy of 73%, making 45 total passes, while Fredrik Aursnes showcased his passing prowess with an accuracy rate of 87% and 64 total passes. Cláudio Winck made 2 key passes, while Fredrik Aursnes made 5. It was a close battle between the two teams, but it looks like Benfica’s strong passing game gave them the edge in the end.

Defense:

Maritimo has been the leader in terms of interceptions this season, with nine overall. Moises Mosquera leads the team with four interceptions. Benfica is not far behind with nine interceptions as well, led by Florentino Luís who has four. Maritimo also has six interceptions in total, which is led by Cláudio Winck’s single interception. Benfica lags slightly behind with only four altogether, all of which belong to Nicolás Otamendi.

Face-to-face:

Pablo Moreno and Alexander Bah have proven to be the leaders of their respective teams, Maritimo and Benfica, based on the number of face-to-face fights for the ball. Moreno has 11 such fights while Bah has 13. This demonstrates their commitment and tenacity in ensuring they are the ones who get possession of the ball, making them invaluable assets to their teams.

Fouls:

Yellow cards:

• Rene (Maritimo) at 29 minute
• A. Vidigal (Maritimo) at 72 minute
• D. Neres (Benfica) at 43 minute
• F. Aursnes (Benfica) at 88 minute

The last five games (including this match):

• Maritimo – LLDLL
• Benfica – WWWDW

Top 5 Primeira Liga scorers:

1. Gonçalo Ramos (8, Benfica)
2. Simon Banza (6, SC Braga)
3. Mehdi Taremi (6, FC Porto)
4. Fran Navarro (5, GIL Vicente)
5. João Mário (5, Benfica)

Next games:

• Maritimo will play with Casa Pia. March 19 at 15:30 (UTC), on Estádio Pina Manique.
• Benfica will play with Guimaraes. March 18 at 18:00 (UTC), on Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica.