Benfica record a year and counting
Monday 26 November 2007
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Rui Costa celebrates his goal in Coimbra (©Getty Images)
A 3-1 win on Saturday saw SL Benfica go a year without a defeat in the Liga, but a "terrible month" of challenges ahead was on goalscorer Rui Costa's mind after.
Unbeaten run
Benfica have not lost a league games since going down 3-1 against SC Braga on 18 November 2006, winning 22 and drawing ten of their subsequent 32 league fixtures. Having gone a goal behing, Rui Costa levelled the scores after 33 minutes of the latest win against A. Académica de Coimbra with Luisão and Freddy Adu striking late on to take the Lisbon giants' unbeaten league run into its second year.
Defining moments
"It wasn't a brilliant match but we won and that was the most important thing," concluded the 35-year-old Rui Costa, who was more concerned about the upcoming UEFA Champions League tie against AC Milan, and after that, a league fixture against leaders FC Porto. "It's a week of great occasions that could define our whole season. We are going to have a terrible month."
'Not impossible'
A win in Milan on Wednesday would keep Benfica in with a chance of progressing to the last 16, although they have picked up just three points from their first four UEFA Champions League games and are currently bottom of Group D, three points adrift of both FC Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic FC. "We will show Milan the same respect as we showed Académica," said Rui Costa, who made his 150th competitive appearance for Benfica on Saturday. "We know it will be difficult to win but it's not impossible."
'The right time'
Central defender Luisão was also making his 150th appearance for Benfica, and celebrated his return to the The Estádio Cidade de Coimbra - where he scored his first goal for Benfica in a 2003/04 Portuguese Cup win - with another strike. "It's difficult to think about Porto now as our heads are in Milan and this will be a tough task," he said. "We will turn our attention to Porto at the right time."
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