Benfica booked their place in the Taca de Portugal Final were they will take on Braga in the season ending game of the Portuguese League season after a 2-0 victory over Estoril earlier today. Benfica entered the second leg game against Estoril after a 3-1 road victory in the
first leg looking to just hang on and give some of their regular
starters a rest. Benfica got goals from surprise starter Goncalo Ramos and Waldschmidt in the second half, with Estoril not presenting much of a threat managing just one shot on goal. Benfica will now play Braga at Jamor on May 23rd, their first encounter in the Taca final in the cups 100+ year history.
Benfica go into Thursday's Taca de Portugal second leg against Estoril with a 3-1 first leg advantage as they look to clinch their place in the final for only the fifth time in the past 15 years. Benfica have had an extremely disappointing season to date and will look to hang onto their advantage to play for the season ending trophy which may be their only hope for some hardware this season with the league championship far from reach. Benfica would face the winners of the FC Porto-Braga showdown, as they try to capture their 27th Taca de Portugal championship in club history.
Benfica manager Jorge Jesus addressed the clubs goaltending change after the Rio Ave game that saw Helton Leite move into the number one role ahead of previous starter Vlachodimos over the past few weeks. Jesus stated that the club can only play one goalie and felt that Helton has earned the chance to be the clubs number one keeper over Vlachodimos who has been the clubs number one since his arrival in the summer of 2018. Jesus said that Vlachodimos' return to goal will all depend on the play of Helton and to date he feels that the 30 year old keeper has been solid in net for Benfica since taking over the role. The move for those that know Jesus was only a matter of time, as the manager has always liked larger goalies and Helton stands at 1.96 meters which is 0.05 meters taller then Vlachodimos.
