Benfica vs Alverca 1-0

Benfica beat Alverca 1-0 at Estádio da Luz, with Vangelis Pavlidis' 51st-minute penalty settling a tight game after a goalless first half.

There was no breakthrough before the interval, although Alverca had a goal ruled out after 25 minutes when VAR cancelled Yaya Bojang's effort. Benfica had already lost Andreas Schjelderup to a 45th-minute change for Claudio Echeverri, and it was 0-0 at half-time.

Pavlidis converted from the spot on 51 minutes to put Benfica ahead, and that was the only goal. Alverca reacted with a double change on 59 minutes, sending on Matheus Franca and Diogo Spencer, and later made two more switches on 75 minutes. Benfica also brought on Rafa Silva on 69 minutes and made a late double change in stoppage time after protecting the lead through the final minutes.

Benfica had 65% of the ball, made 580 passes to Alverca's 300 and had 13 shots to 8. The home side also finished with 8 corners to 5, while both teams had 4 shots on target. Alverca had more fouls, 15 to 10, and Benfica's expected goals stood at 1.68 to 0.62.

Discipline was shared across the afternoon. Alverca's Yaya Bojang was booked in the 15th minute before his goal was disallowed, Francisco Chiquinho was booked on 58 minutes and Ian Luccas on 63, while Clément Lenglet was booked for Benfica on 65 minutes.