|
WEIFANG, China, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's Benfica beat Spain's Real Madrid 3-1 here on Monday in what appeared to be the most intensive game so far at the 10th Luneng Weifang Cup International Youth Football Tournament.
Representing two adjacent countries on the Iberian Peninsula whose football style shares the similarity of stressing ground passing and control over the ball, the long-time rivals didn't play tentatively when the game began but opted straightforwardly for attacking football.
Benfica seemed to have better coordination on the offensive throughout the first half as Real Madrid players still struggled to recover from the fatigue after their game against China U-19 team one day earlier.
The Portuguese side scored their first goal in the 15th minute when defender Jorge Filipe Soares Silva jumped high and headed in a corner.
Captain Bruno Miguel Ponces Lourenco's 23rd-minute goal amid a goalmouth melee gave his side, whose adult squad won the Portuguese league champions in the 2015-16 season, a 2-0 lead as they headed to the interim.
Benfica netted in their third goal just three minutes into the second half when Abduramane Mamadu Sano Sani slotted in the ball after a failed attempt by his teammates.
Real Madrid bounced back after conceding three goals, but their waves of attacks during the last 20 minutes only resulted in one goal by Elliot Gomez Lopez in the 62nd minute.
Benfica coach Joao Carlos Valado Tralhao said it was a great game and his team played better than Real Madrid.
"We deserve to win of course, but Real Madrid is a big team. They have very good players and they clawed back during the last 20 minutes, but we defended well," Tralhao said, adding that his players were gradually adapting to the hot and humid weather, which had caused them trouble during the previous game in which they lost 1-0 to Brazil's Desportivo Brasil.
"It was a very tough game and for me Benfica is one of the best teams in Europe (in terms of) the youth category," Real Madrid coach Daniel Poyatos Algaba said, adding that his players needed "a little bit more time" to recover from the previous game against the China U-19 which he said was an intensive game.
"It's a short time between one game and another, but it's OK and we will continue with our plan," Algaba said.
