Benfica vs. Inter: Ríos' Impact & Champions League Final Analysis

Man of the match: Ríos (8)

When someone scores a goal and assists another, there is no doubt who is the best on the field. From Richard’s feet came rivers of crystal clear water that cleaned the stars of the Champions League, which for the Reds were a bit dull. He still has a very heavy backpack on his back resulting from the many millions his pass cost. But, little by little, he is justifying the investment, after having already been the best on the field in the derby. Very intense, as he already demonstrated during his time at Palmeiras, he is the one who defines the team’s pressure timing. And when he drifts towards the lanes, his very long stride causes immense damage to opposing defenses, as was demonstrated to satiety in the second goal, in which when he raised his head he immediately saw where he would have to place the ball.

Trubin (5) — On the eve of a general strike, the Ukrainian was grateful for the extremely meager offensive labor package from the Neapolitans in the first half, which led him to carry out a kind of zealous strike. In other words, he was on the field but he wasn’t there, as he was forced to do nothing during that period. In the second half, they saw the opposing forwards closer to their area of jurisdiction, but strange as it may seem, they didn’t make any complicated defenses.

I dedicate (7) — This time it wasn’t even necessary for the Bosnian to be as offensive as he usually is to create offensive imbalances. But as the main mission of a defender is that, to defend, in this chapter he did not compromise and there was only the defending Italian champion ahead.

Tomás Araújo (7) — Mourinho put him in because he is the fastest of the central defenders and Neapolitan forwards are fast, but it wasn’t even necessary to use that weapon. Positional sense was enough to ward off the danger in the red area.

Otamendi (7) — No one is humanly eternal but diamonds are eternal, like the song from the 007 film. And the captain is a diamond. He was upset with himself because he couldn’t score with an acrobatic shot. However, this failure did not take away his shine…

Dahl (6) — He still seems very short for a full-back on a big team, but the truth is that he was involved in the first goal when he requested Ivanovic. But he has to show more, especially because there is a 17-year-old kid full of desire to show his service, his name is José Neto, and he even has a world champion title on his resume.

Barranechea (7) — He was the buffer in the midfield area and contributed a lot to the little horse McTominay not showing himself and this time he didn’t even get stuck too far back and when he had the opportunity (79′) he climbed meters after meters to serve Pavlidis and he put Milinkovic-Savic to attention.

Aursnes (6) — It started on a very high artistic note with a heel touch that unmarked Ivanovic, then lost a goal scored when he shot completely curled with his left foot but, otherwise, he seems to be back to the levels of intensity and tactical rigor of the past.

Leandro Barreiro (7)— Proven proof that a worker can also know how to play the flute and come out with a beautiful melody, as happened in that masterful heel touch that resulted in the second Red goal. The Luxembourger almost had his back to the goal but put the Reds in a good position to win.

Sudakov (7) — He is definitely signing a peace treaty with the fans. After the goal in the derby, another good performance, which started with a fantastic pass to Aursnes (11′) and a lot of help to Dahl in the defensive process. On paper he started playing on the left, but he often drifted to the middle, where he feels more comfortable and has more space to let his imagination run wild.

Ivanovic (7) — Even before the start of the match, José Mourinho explained why he placed the Croatian in the eleven to the detriment of Pavlidis, as he wanted greater mobility in the attacking front to open gaps in the Italians’ last stronghold. So far so good, just like the way he put pressure on the opponent’s first phase of construction. But the failure remains at the 11th minute…

Pavlidis (6) — Anyone who has a keen eye for goal has it. He entered with just over a quarter of an hour to play and still had two opportunities. Didn’t score, but just barely…

Antonio Silva (6)— Another soldier for the defensive trench when it was necessary to hold back the triumph.

Tiago Freitas (—) — It is on his CV that on his debut for the Reds main team he beat the Italian champion. Bad? Far from it.

José Neto (—) — The fans were eager to see the young Alentejo player in action and Mourinho obliged them, already in compensation.