May 13, 2008 12:11 PM
SOURCE:
goal.com
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Benfica Win But Stay Fourth
Benfica 3-0 Vitória de Setúbal
A majestic 3-0 win over Vitória de Setúbal did not prevent Benfica from finishing in fourth place in BWIN Liga in what was Rui Costa's farewell from the field...
The Eagles knew that they would have to win this game and wait for Sporting or Vitória de Guimarães to slip to have a chance to play in the Champions League next season.
Benfica did their part, and started out in the front seat. In the opening minutes, the fans were thrilled to know that, a few kilometres away from the stadium, Sporting were losing to Boavista.
The home side could have broken the deadlock in the 24th minute, when Rui Costa crossed from the right to Óscar Cardozo, who gracefully headed it to Nuno Gomes. The Portuguese striker made no mistake but saw his effort being ruled out for offside.
Benfica would take the lead two minutes later, when Katsouranis headed home a Rui Costa cross from the right past Eduardo.
The game pretty much became a one-way street as the visitors were finding it very hard to make attempts on goal.
On 40 minutes, Benfica doubled their lead. Cardozo received the ball near the right flank, moved past a player into the middle, and fired a powerful shot with his left foot from 18 yards out to make it 2-0. It was his 22nd goal of the season.
The Eagles started the second half on the front foot and would see Nuno Gomes wasting an array of opportunities. Rui Costa wanted to retire with a goal scored in his farewell but he would never find the net.
On 86 minutes, Rui Costa made way for Binya. More than 54,000 spectators made a standing ovation to acclaim one of the best players in the history of the club.
Benfica would make it 3-0 four minutes later. Cardozo's strike was well saved by Eduardo, but Nuno Gomes was there to knock in the rebound and end a half-season period without scoring.
It was a well-deserved win for Benfica, but just not enough to play in the Champions League, as both Sporting and Vitória de Guimarães won their respective games, leaving the Eagles with the memory of one of the worst seasons in history.
