3-1: Pavlidis and Prestianni continue to do their thing

The Greek Vangelis Pavlidis, with a double, and the Argentine Gianluca Prestianni, with the last goal, secured this Sunday Benfica’s hard-fought victory over Gil Vicente 3-1 on the sixth day of the Portugal League.

The match began in a bitter way for Benfica, since in the 7th minute the Spaniard Héctor Hernández received a deep pass between the rival centre-backs and put Gil ahead on the scoreboard.

In addition to the goal, Hernández was one of the best on the pitch for his contribution to the Gil Vicente defense, which for a long time managed to prevent the ‘eagles’ from getting dangerously close to their area, despite the pressure they intensified after conceding the goal.

The tie would not come until the 29th minute, when Pavlidis appeared in front of the goalkeeper and took advantage of a moment of confusion among the visiting defenders to score a Vaseline goal.

The fight between Gil’s defense and Benfica’s attack lasted until the 88th minute, when Pavlidis scored his double from the penalty spot.

With six minutes of added time left, Gianluca Prestianni dispelled any doubts and, with an individual play that culminated with a shot on goal, established the final 3-1.

Prestianni, who has scored five goals so far in the League, was one of the three ‘albicelestes’ players who were part of Benfica’s starting eleven during the match, in which Enzo Barrenechea and debutant Claudio Echeverri also played.

Benfica now faces a week that looks demanding, with a trip to Italy to face AC Milan in the Europa League on Wednesday, and a visit to Do Dragão on Sunday to face Porto in the classic of the next league match.