Benfica seem to be running on fumes

Benfica has been a dominant force in their domestic league and Europe this season, however the past few games, cracks seem to be starting to show as the club has struggled and have fans wondering if they may just be running out of gas at the most inopportune time.

Benfica have dropped two games in a row at home, suffering a defeat in O Classico against FC Porto that saw the Dragons reduce the clubs lead to seven points atop Portugal. That was followed four days later, with  their first loss in the Champions League to Inter Milan at the quarter-final stage and will see the club have to travel to Italy down two goals as they look to keep their European dream alive.

Benfica are struggling to create chances and score goals, which is reflected in their recent results, their lone win since the International break was a struggle to a 1-0 victory over Rio Ave. 

The lack of depth in the squad is also a major concern and has seen manager Roger Schmidt face his first criticism from the club faithful as his lack of in game management and the usage of his bench has been almost non-existent.

Benfica is facing their first difficult phase of the season and need to regain their confidence to get back on track before what has been a marvelous campaign turns into dramatic collapse.

Benfica run of poor play proves costly in Inter loss

Benfica's run of poor performances proves to be costly in their loss today to Inter Milan. The Portuguese side has been struggling since the end of the International break and their lack of form was evident on the pitch against the Italian giants today in Champions League play. Despite coming into the game as favourites, Benfica failed to produce the free flowing attack that fans have become accustomed to seeing this season.

The two clubs played a scoreless first half before Inter struck twice in the second half, with the second marker coming of a harsh penalty call that saw the ball deflect off Joao Mario's head onto his out of position arm inside the box.

Benfica's struggles to break down a stingy Inter defense was no more apparent then down the right side of the field where Gilberto, playing in place of an injured Alexander Bah and Joao Mario failed to click time and time again before the introduction of David Neres changed that.

With just one win in their last three competitive games, which include two straight losses at home, Benfica must find a way to turn things around quickly if they hope to progress further in Europe's elite competition.

The pressure will be on Benfica manager Roger Schmidt who will need to find his best XI for a must win second leg at the San Siro next week and shake off his apparent lack of confidence with his bench options when things are not working to plan.

Benfica need to move past FC Porto loss

Benfica, who are one of the most successful football clubs in Portugal, suffered a humbling 2-1 loss to their arch-rivals FC Porto in their latest league match at the Estadio da Luz, reigniting Porto's title hopes tol capture the league crown with seven games remaining and trailing the Eagles by seven points. 

This defeat has left many Benfica fans, myself included, disappointed and frustrated, but it is important for the team to move past this loss and focus on their upcoming Champions League quarter-final match against Inter Milan coming up mid-week at the Luz.  

The club will need to analyze their mistakes from the FC Porto match and work on improving their performance in upcoming future games. 

It will be crucial for Benfica to maintain a positive attitude and not let this loss affect their morale as one thing is certain from the outcome of this encounter and it is that manager Roger Schmidt does not have confidence in his current bench making only two substitutions with the club looking to equalize last night, the return of injured Goncalo Guedes and Julian Draxler can not come soon enough.