The crossbar denied Oscar Cardozo a
hat-trick but he did enough to keep
Benfica alive in Group G of the UEFA
Champions League with a 2-0 victory
over 10-man Spartak Moscow.
Cardozo scored twice in the second
half and then saw his penalty rattle the
bar after Nicolas Pareja had been sent
off for bringing him down in the area.
But while there was no matchball for
Cardozo, there were three vital points
for Benfica to move them off the
bottom of the group, even if their
chances of sneaking into the knockout
stages were hugely complicated by
Celtic's shock defeat of Barcelona.
Spartak enjoyed the better of the
opening exchanges, but Diniyar
Bilyaletdinov's shot was blocked by
goalkeeper Artur Moraes and Kim
Kallstrom sent an ambitious volley over
the bar.
Benfica finally began to find their
rhythm after 20 minutes and created a
series of openings. Rodrigo Moreno's
shot was blocked before Eduardo
Salvio spurned a better chance,
shooting wide on the follow-up after
Artem Rebrov could only parry Rodrigo
Lima's effort. Enzo Perez then blazed
wide from the edge of the area, while
a free-kick from Salvio picked out the
head of Jardel Vieira but his effort
went wide.
Moreno also headed wide and
Benfica's frustration continued to grow
as Salvio failed to keep a volleyed shot
down and Moreno's free-kick curled
wide.
The hosts continued to pile on the
pressure after the break, but their
finishing did not immediately improve
as Salvio's 25-yard effort went over and
Lima also shot wide.
Spartak briefly threatened again, with
Bilyaletdinov's powerful effort parried
by Moraes, who then held another
shot from Dmitri Kombarov.
The breakthrough came moments
later, but came for Benfica. Lorenzo
Melgarejo crossed from the left and
Cardozo was there to apply the finish
from close range.
They only threatened to add to the
lead. John Ola tried his luck with a
driven shot from 25 yards that fizzed
wide while Andre Almeida's effort from
similar range went over.
Lima also shot over and Cardozo could
not keep his header down from a 65th
minute corner, but the second was
coming. It arrived in the 69th minute,
Ola's cross finding Cardozo for a left-
footed volley into the roof of the net.
Artem Dzjuba sought a response for
Spartak but Moraes dealt with his shot
comfortably and then the Russian
cause grew significantly more difficult
as Pareja hauled down Cardozo inside
the area, conceding a penalty and
receiving his marching orders. Cardozo
went for power with the penalty, but
was denied a hat-trick as it cracked off
the crossbar.
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Thursday, November 8, 2012
Benfica 2-0 Spartak Moscow
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