The match between Nacional and Benfica was stopped after the eighth minute. The teams were ordered to return to their cabins due to the heavy fog that hung over Chobana Stadium in Madeira.
The heavy fog that hung over the island of Madeira recently led to the interruption of Nacional's reception against Benfica, in the eighth round of the Portuguese Premier League, after nine minutes.
Referee Gustavo Correa stopped the match at Chobana Stadium due to poor visibility on the field, when the score was still 0-0, and the two teams withdrew to the changing rooms.
Since the start of the match between the Reds, who are ranked third in the tournament, and Nacional, who is ranked 17th, the match has been “stopped” at different times, with protests from the stands and also from some players on the field.
Nacional, which is in 17th place, with the same five points as Boavista and Estrella da Amadora, will receive Benfica, which is in third place with 16, in a match in the eighth round of the Portuguese Football League, scheduled for next Sunday, starting at six in the evening, and managed by Gustavo. Korea from Porto Union.
What the coaches said
Coach Thiago Margarido said that Nacional will face “the best Benfica this season,” calling on his team to be “intelligent,” in a match linked to the eighth round of the Portuguese Premier League, on Sunday.
“We will not have the ball as long as we want to, especially since Benfica is a high-quality team, so we have to be very smart in defence, cohesive, united and fierce at that moment,” he said, in anticipation of the confrontation with the “Eagles”, about the best way to stop Benfica’s formation.
After the loss at home to the national champion Sporting (6-1) and the defeat at home to Sporting de Braga (3-0), Thiago Margarido admits that despite the heavy defeats, the group learned “important lessons”, as “these mistakes that were made “The team is growing in its approach in the following matches.”
“We were competitive for 77 minutes [frente ao Sporting de Braga] In one detail, the match went to the opponent's side,” he said, adding that Nacional was now “a growing team, but it is getting stronger and improving” day by day.
For his part, Benfica coach Bruno Lage said that the team must present its best version on Sunday, in the current round of matches, to win over Nacional, in the eighth round of the first football league.
The “Reds” travel to Madeira to conclude the first stage after six matches for the coach at the helm of the team and a few days after the victory over Atletico Madrid (4-0), a match in which the coach appealed to the players to “bring out the best version of each person.”
“The challenge is for tomorrow [do domingo] “It is in the same direction, but the best version of the team must appear in these five matches so that we can end this series of six matches with a victory, because this is the only logical way.” At a press conference in Seychelles.
Furthermore, Lage repeated the idea at least five times in the various answers he gave to reporters, including when asked if rivals were now looking at Benfica more closely.
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