Benfica beat Alverca 1-0 at the Estádio da Luz in the 10th round, with referee analyst Pedro Henriques judging that the game’s two key decisions were correct: the VAR cancellation of an Alverca goal and the penalty awarded to Benfica. Henriques gave referee Bruno Pires Costa a score of six, while noting two yellow cards he believed should have been shown but were not.
Alverca’s goal was ruled out for offside after a free kick was diverted by Figueiredo. The ball struck the post after the goalkeeper’s save and fell to Boyang, who scored from the rebound. Henriques said the relevant moment was Figueiredo’s touch and that Boyang was five centimetres offside. The assistant referee had initially allowed the goal, but VAR overturned the decision.
Henriques also supported the penalty awarded to Benfica in the 49th minute. He said Sergi Gomes brought down Echeverri with his left foot while sliding in, and that VAR was right to uphold the on-field decision.
The analyst identified two disciplinary errors in the first half. He said Boyang should have received a yellow card in the ninth minute for stepping on a Benfica defender’s ankle, and that Palhinha should have been booked in the 12th minute for bringing down Alverca forward Kamara without touching the ball. Boyang was later booked for an incident involving Prestianni; Henriques agreed with that decision, saying the contact was made with the forearm rather than the elbow.
Henriques said there was no penalty when Pavlidis appealed after contact with Alverca’s Nabil Touaizi in the 33rd minute. He judged the contacts to be slight and not enough to constitute an offence. He also considered the later yellow cards for Chiquinho, Ian Lucas and Lingard justified.
The score of six reflected what Henriques described as a positive overall performance, with the penalty and the offside decision correctly resolved, but deductions for the two missed bookings. He said the goalscoring decisions were right, while noting that the offside call was made with VAR assistance.
Sources: Observador.