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Chelsea vs. Benfica: Can Oscar Cardozo kill two birds with one stone?
Upon looking at the goalscoring record of Benfica’s Paraguayan striker Oscar Cardozo, just the fact that he is considered something of an enigma is an enigma in itself.
When Benfica president Luis Felipe Vieira splashed out just shy of 10 million euros for the beanpole marksman in the summer of 2007, he confidently announced “Benfica have bought a striker to guarantee twenty goals a season.” Cardozo has proven as good as Vieira’s word, finding the net on a staggeringly consistent basis. He has scored 127 times in 204 matches in all competitions for Benfica.
So it follows that Cardozo is an idol of the Estádio da Luz, right? Wrong. Cardozo is far from the darling of the Benfica faithful, even attracting boos from sections of the crowd on a mystifyingly regular basis.
Uniao Leiria vs Benfica Preview
Benfica travel to Marinha Grande to play Uniao de Leiria in the knowledge that victory will put them top of the Liga ZON Sagres table.
The Lisbon club have enjoyed an excellent season so far, with just one defeat in 27 matches in all competitions. As usual, a major factor behind that success is big striker Oscar Cardozo. TheParaguayan has been a veritable goal machine since signing for Benfica, and has been especially prolific since Jorge Jesus took over as coach of the Portuguese giants in the summer of 2009.
In 110 games the beanpole centre-forward has notched up 75 goals under Jesus. He has hit another rich vein of form recently, scoring five times in his last four matches.
The Benfica coach is confident Cardozo and his team can extend their four-match winning run on Sunday. "Benfica started the year strongly. We are motivated, confident and we will do everything to win the game," said Jesus.
Beira-Mar vs Benfica Report
A goalkeeping blunder enabled Benfica to squeeze past Beira-Mar in Round 8 of the Liga ZON Sagres.
Benfica were far from their best in Aveiro, but got the three points to remain top of the table and pile pressure on bitter rivals FC Porto. The Eagles put in a leaden-footed performance that bore the hallmarks of tiredness after their midweek exertions in the Champions League.
It was Beira-Mar who created the better chances throughout the ninety minutes, but poor finishing and more solid goalkeeping from Benfica goalkeeper Artur kept out the hosts.
The winning goal came shortly before half time, with the collaboration of the Beira-Mar goalkeeper Rui Rego. Rego is one of the top goalkeepers in Portugal, but in the 42nd minute his horribly sliced clearance ballooned into the air allowing Oscar Cardozo the easiest of tasks to head into the empty net.
Sporting Braga vs Benfica Preview
SL Benfica will be defending a slender 2-1 aggregate lead when they travel to face SC Braga in the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg.
Braga captain Vandinho cancelled out Jardel’s opener during the first leg, before Oscar Cardozo struck to give Benfica a 2-1 win.Braga know if they keep a clean sheet one goal will be enough to see them advance. This task will be made difficult by the fact that Benfica have found the net in every away game they have played in this seasons Europa League. Braga midfielder Hugo Viana is unnerved by this fact. “I have been told Benfica always score away goals, but I heard the same about Dynamo Kyiv and also that Liverpool always score at home,” Viana told the official UEFA website.
Benfica midfielder Javier Saviola will feature in the Benfica midfield as they look to reach the final. Saviola played for Sevilla when they beat Middlesbrough FC 4-0 in the 2006 UEFA Cup Final.
Benfica vs Sporting Braga Report
SL Benfica gained a slim advantage with a 2-1 win over SC Braga in the UEFA Europa League semi-final first leg.
All the goals were scored in a nine minute spell early in the second half. Braga captain Vandinho cancelled out Jardel’s opener, before Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica a 2-1 aggregate lead ahead of the second leg.Both sides had an early scoring chance, first Benfica striker Javier Saviola had his shot cleared, before Silvio fired wide at the other end.
After 20 minutes Saviola forced a good save from Braga goalkeeper Artur, before Pablo Aimar played in Cardozo, only for the Paraguay striker to lift over the bar. Cardozo went close again just before half-time when he collected Saviola’s through ball only to fire against the goal post.
USA vs Paraguay Report
A first half goal from Oscar Cardozo powered Paraguay to a 1-0 victory over the USA in Tennessee on Wednesday night.
USA started confidently but were undone when Paraguay took the lead from an 18th minute set piece. A deflected corner kick found the feet of Cardozo and the Benfica striker powered a shot high into the net for a 1-0 lead.The USA’s best first half chance also came from a set piece, when Jay DeMerit headed a Landon Donovan free kick wide of Justo Villars goal.
Paraguay kept possession well in the second half but struggled to penetrate an American defensive line that included impressive New York Red Bulls youngster Tim Ream. Another Red Bull almost created an equalizer when Juan Agudelo played a clever flick through to Eric Lichaj, but the Aston Villa defender’s threatening cross was steered wide by Clint Dempsey.
Benfica vs Sporting CP Lisbon Preview
Thirty-two-time Portuguese Liga winners Benfica lock horns with bitter city rivals Sporting Lisbon in the battle of the weekend in Portugal. Which team will edge the other?
Seating 13th in the 16-team table is one of the worst thing Benfica could have wished for. The Portuguese Liga defending champions just have 3 points from a possible 12 having lost thrice already to Academica de Coimbra, CD Nacional de Madeira, and Guimaraes respectively. They started the defense of their domestic title on a bad note as they lost 2-1 on match-day one at home. Thankfully for Benfica fans, the team bounced back at the Estadio da Luz with a 3-0 victory over Vitoria Setubal which actually proved to be their sole win in the Portuguese Liga so far.
However, a boost-lifting 2-0 triumph over Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Champions League could inspire Benfica ahead of this weekend’s titanic battle against Sporting Lisbon who are 5th in the table standings.