Unbelievable scenes in Portugal!Lisbon-based greats Benfica are favourites to regain the championship accolades but their job has been made much easier tonight, as they faced nine-man Belenenses.A nossa equipa 🏰#TorresdeBelem #LigaPortugal #Futebol pic.twitter.com/0B8KiMBYZt— Belenenses Futebol SAD (@OsBelenensesSAD) November 27, 2021 The underdogs are heavily hit by coronavirus – many of their players are sick, the others are isolated so they couldn’t field a full team. It remains inexplicable why the Portuguese league authorities didn’t allow them to postpone the fixture.So Belenses put two keepers in the starting XI, or to be accurate, starting IX, with their most experienced player being only 24.Belenenses SAD’s 9, by order of age:Henrique Pires (19) João Monteiro (20)André Lopes (20)Antonio Montez (20)Trova Boni (21)Eduardo Kau (22)Álvaro Ramalho (22)Diogo Calila (23)Rafael Santos (24)— Próxima Jornada (@ProximaJornada1) November 27, 2021 Moreover, the game started awfully for them, as Kau scored an unintentional own goal 25 seconds into the game.
Of course, Benfica were comfortable with such an advantage on the pitch and poured six more before the half-time break.Awkward, bizarre, ludicrous… There are many ways and words to describe this confusing night of Portuguese football.