Kerem Aktürkoğlu brace sees Benfica survive Farense scare
Benfica 3-2 Farense
Going into Wednesday's Primeira Liga match against Farense SC, SL Benfica knew that anything short of a victory would be a massive disappointment. With Sporting CP just three points ahead of the Benfica, Bruno Lage put out an attacking side against a Farense team that has struggled of late. The last time Farense visited the Estadio da Luz, they managed an unlikely 1-1 draw. The struggling Algrave club were not far off obtaining another shock draw, falling just short on this occasion.
Two goals from Turkish winger Kerem Aktürkoğlu were enough to see Benfica survive this tricky affair, with the home side holding on to a slender 3-2 victory to go level on points with Sporting. Benfica have now won eight consecutive league matches, scoring 22 goals over that stretch. The result leaves Farense's season hanging in the balance, They remain 17th place in the league, six points away from safety.
Sahir Bhojwani reports from the Estádio da Luz.
Aktürkoğlu and Pavlidis hand Benfica early advantage
A confident Benfica side pressed for an early goal and it didn’t take long for them to break the deadlock. After some smart build up play on the right side involving Di Maria and Aursnes, a perfectly timed cross found Kerem Aktürkoğlu open at the back post. A casual tap-in gave the home side an early lead. A counter attacking goal from Vangelis Pavlidis 16 minutes later calmed the nerves around the Esatdio da Luz, giving Benfica some breathing room early in the match.
Tomás Ribeiro scores against the run of play
Things seemed to be going smoothly for Bruno Lage's side as they attempted to take a healthy two-goal lead into the half. Farense, however, had other ideas, and continued to push forward late in the first half. A rocket from Miguel Menino in the 42nds minute forced a smart save from Anatoliy Trubin. From the resulting corners, Farense were able to work an opportunity, with Tomás Ribeiro Riberoi heading home from close range after Falcão’s initial shot came off the crossbar.
Kerem Aktürkoğlu restores two goal lead
Farense's goal late in the first half seemed to shock Benfica back to life. Coming into the secod half, Lage's men were more direct and played with intent. They were rewarded for their hard work in the 54th minutes after some silky passing between Aktürkoğlu and Pavlidis led to the former recorded his second goal with a composed low shot.
Rony Lopes provides visitors with hope
With less than 30 minutes to play, the game started to open up with Farense manager Tozé pushing players up the pitch and spreading his wingers wide. In the 63rd minute, the Faro club were finally able to find some space down the left side. A low cross from Derick Poloni found Rony Lopes, who made sure to capitalise on the opportunity.
Farense continued to push forward but were unable to break through a stubborn Benfica central defence that was well organised behind António Silva and Nicolás Otamendi. Benfica survived the late scare, but will have to be better next week when they travel to face FC Porto at the Estádio do Dragão.
Benfica 3-2 Farense highlights
Lineups
Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin, Samuel Dahl, Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva, Álvaro Carreras, Renato Sanches, Fredrik Aursnes, Ángel Di María (Andreas Schjelderup, 75), Orkun Kökçü, Kerem Aktürkoğlu (Zeki Amdouni, 89), Vangelis Pavlidis (Andrea Belotti, 75)
Farense: Ricardo Velho, Artur Jorge (Yusupha Njie, 83), Cláudio Falcão, Tomás Ribeiro, Pastor, Miguel Menino (Rui Costa, 67), Zé Carlos (Filipe Soares, 67), Ângelo Neto (Álex Bermejo, 83), Derick Poloni, Rony Lopes, Tomané (Marco Matias, 83)
Goals:
[1-0] Kerem Aktürkoğlu, 7'
[2-0] , Vangelis Pavlidis 23'
[2-1] Tomás Ribeiro, 43'
[3-1] Kerem Aktürkoğlu, 54'
[3-2] Rony Lopes, 63'