adminLISBON. — Benfica coach Rui Vitoria faces another test of his powers of improvisation as he tries to patch up a team without tops-corer Jonas against Bayern Munich tonight. The match kicks-off at 8:45pm.
The Portuguese champions and league leaders were beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League soccer quarter-final last week, a narrow enough margin to give them a chance of producing a major upset at the Stadium of Light.
But with Brazilian marksman Jonas suspended following three yellow cards, the likelihood of beating Bayern for the first time after seven failed attempts and ending a 26-year wait since Benfica’s last semi-finals appearance looks more remote.
The 31-year-old has scored 30 goals in only 29 Portuguese league appearances this season, plus two in his nine Champions League outings including a crucial stoppage-time winner at home to Zenit St Petersburg in the previous round.
But Vitoria, in his first season at Benfica, has already proved he can produce a winning team from a squad which lacks the strength-in-depth of elite European teams such as Bayern.
Mexican forward Raul Jimenez, who usually starts on the bench, might get a chance to finally partner Kostas Mitroglou on Wednesday, although Vitoria could move midfielder Nicolas Gaitan into attack and reshuffle his midfield.
But Vitoria was not fretting.
“We’re not going to sit here and cry over something we cannot control,” he said. “This is just an opportunity for someone else and whoever plays will certainly do a great job.
“We are going to put out a competitive team to face them on equal terms, hand for hand, centimetre by centimetre.” — Reuters.
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