The perfect midfield: It starts with never passing the ball to Ronaldo.

Benfica fielded a 4-3-3 formation, with the in-form Arthur in goal and Luisão and Garay anchoring the defense.

The midfield core is Serbian defensive midfielder Matic, and the attacking trident consists of Cardozo, Lima, and Salvio.

Porto made a slight adjustment in the absence of James Rodriguez, with Martinez and Varela partnering up front and Mario positioned further forward.

Behind him was the midfield trio of Moutinho, Fernando, and Gonzalez.

Otamendi and Mangala anchored the midfield, with Elton remaining in goal.

With two defensive midfielders, Moutinho can be fully unleashed. His playmaking and support, combined with Mario's powerful attacking ability, make Porto's tactics at the Estádio da Luz far from conservative.

With the referee's whistle, the first leg of the 12-13 Portuguese national derby officially kicked off at the Estádio da Luz.

Without much probing, both sides demonstrated their competitive spirit.

Everything for victory!

The eagles, playing on their home turf, launched a swift attack, while the dragons, coming to challenge them, were equally determined.

Cardozo's powerful shot had barely finished when Porto immediately launched an attack.

Mario received a pass from Moutinho on the right side of his own half.

The young man, who is firing on all cylinders in both the league and the Champions League, is no longer the naive player he once was.

Benfica's marking of him was extremely strict. Serbian midfielder Matic was like a shadow, sticking close to the eighteen-year-old boy, his hot breath almost hitting the back of Mario's neck.

"Simple physical confrontation!"

"He stumbled a bit, but the ball was still under Mario's control."

"Pass it back to Moutinho."

"Matic is still sticking close by!"

"That wall-running play was brilliant, successfully exploiting Matic's height disadvantage!"

"We'll see how Super Mario handles the half-body space."

When Mario received the ball sideways, he lightly tapped it with his left foot, transferring the ball to his right foot while simultaneously making a slight downward movement of his shoulder.

Beautiful rhythmic variations.

Although Matic's defensive experience prevented him from being directly faked out, his center of gravity inevitably showed a slight hesitation.

In that split second, Mario flicked the ball forward and to the left with the outside of his left foot!

He could use both hands to shoot, so he found a hole and started crawling!

"Turn around!"

"A brilliant move!"

"Why didn't you shake them off?"

"Matic!"

"Sevilla's defensive midfielder made a very subtle movement!"

As a key player for Benfica, Matic is very skilled in using various defensive techniques.

Just as he was about to be beaten, he subtly tugged at the hem of Mario's jersey with his left hand and then immediately let go.

This pull interrupted Mario's acceleration, and Benfica's number 21 took the opportunity to block the inside again, forcing him to the side.

"Smart defense means not making unnecessary tackles, but using your body and experience to compress space."

Mario glanced at his teammates' positions out of the corner of his eye, but didn't pass the ball.

A simple bicycle feint!

With his solid fundamentals, he wouldn't make the embarrassing situation of kicking the ball out of bounds and receiving praise from his opponent.

Having found space, Mario accelerated again, dribbling along the sideline. Although his absolute speed wasn't fast, his pace and rhythm were well-coordinated, making it very difficult for the tall and strong Matic to move.

Seeing this, Benfica's left-back Melgarejo quickly closed in, forming a pincer movement with the tracking Matic.

Just as the two were about to close in, Mario suddenly stopped and spiked the ball, seemingly about to pass it back or sideways.

Melgarejo braked suddenly, and Matic also slowed down to block the passing lane.

However, Mario's left foot only lightly touched the top of the ball when he shrugged!

He actually flicked the ball gently towards the penalty area with the inside of his right foot, and like an eel, he slipped through the fleeting gap between the two!

"It's over!"

"His versatile use of both feet makes him impossible to defend against!"

"His brilliant idea allowed him to successfully squeeze into the cracks in the crowd!"

Now, Mario is facing the goal, only five or six meters from the edge of the penalty area.

This is his sweet spot.

Gaitan, who was providing backup, was immediately on high alert. He had watched Mario's highlights and knew that long-range shots were the guy's absolute weapon.

He quickly retreated to the side to block the shooting angle, and Galjado, who was next to him, also moved over from the middle to help defend.

Gaitan spread his arms to expand his defensive area, lowered his center of gravity, and stared intently at the ball at Mario's feet.

Porto's prodigy didn't slow down; he continued to dribble the ball laterally toward the center, each step pressing on the opponent's taut nerves.

At the same time, Gaitan glanced at Varela, who was rapidly closing in on the left, and his gaze involuntarily drifted for a moment.

This is the perfect opportunity!!

Without hesitation, Mario again feigned a flick to the right with his left foot, his body and arms outstretched.

While drawing the opponent's weight to the right, gently push the ball forward and to the left with the instep of your left foot.

A simple but strangely rhythmic change of direction!

Gaitan's inner alarm bells rang: "Damn it! We can't let him kick us!!"

Unfortunately, human strength has its limits. Once he was in a passive defensive position, it was too late for him to adjust his body to block the ball. He could only subconsciously stretch out his left leg to try to reach it.

"Beep!"

A sharp whistle rang out!

The referee pointed firmly to the location of the foul, about 30 meters from the goal, slightly to the right of the edge of the penalty area – an absolute prime spot for a free kick.

"foul!"

"Free kick!"

"Gaitan fell for it! Mario's rhythm change is a bit like Figo's!"

"You can shoot directly at the door from this position!!"

-【Holy crap, that dribbling skills are amazing!!】

Benfica's midfield defense was completely outmaneuvered by a child!

- [Gaitan is also strong offensively but weak defensively; if the two of them played together, it would probably be a blowout!]

- [The main reason is that Mario's long-range shots are too powerful, so they don't dare to let him shoot easily. Of course, his solid basic skills and ability to apply them effectively are also objective facts!]

- [Blind guess: a free kick that'll go straight into the top corner!]

- [Moutinho and Mario are both standing at the penalty spot, let's see how they handle it~]

At this moment, the air at the Estádio da Luz was even hotter, filled with the deafening boos from Benfica fans and the excited shouts from Porto fans.

Near the spot where the foul occurred, Benfica players were nervously forming a wall, with goalkeeper Arthur giving loud instructions in an attempt to cover the near post.

They did the same thing when they played Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Hmm, it was probably Moutinho faking a run, and Mario taking the real shot!

Who can resist the temptation of a direct free kick from a prime position that goes straight through the net?

The camera focused on the two players in front of the penalty spot, Moutinho and Mario, both with their eyes fixed on the goal.

They cannot let their eyes and the position of their supporting legs betray their true intentions.

"Moutinho's running start!"

"Pass to the back post!"

Artur, who was guarding against the opponent's direct shot, immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly moved towards the far post.

The ball spun around everyone at the near post, and Mangala suddenly broke free from the crowd.

The 192cm tall French center-back leaped like a warship and struck the ball precisely on the underside of its forehead!

boom!

Arthur didn't have time to make a save; the ball changed direction and bounced into the net in an instant!

0: 1!

Porto are leading away from home!

"Mangala!"

"Header!"

"Porto got off to a dream start in the 5th minute!"

"Super Mario's sharp breakthrough in the attacking third won the team a free kick opportunity, and Moutinho accurately found the French defender at the far post!"

"That header was so powerful, Benfica's defense was asleep for a moment!"

- [Tell me, who is the real boss in Portugal?]

Is Artur sleepwalking?

He's guarding against Mario's long-range shot!

- [I thought it was the same tactic they used against Paris, but these two are actually pretty good actors. Mario's resolute gaze could be in a Beijing Film Academy textbook!!]

A blue tsunami erupted in the away stands as Mangala rushed toward the corner flag and frantically slapped the Porto team crest at the fans.

Mario chuckled and patted Mangala on the head, saying that set pieces can't be forced; you have to be able to pass and shoot to create a greater threat.

Just like Ronaldo in the future always choosing to shoot directly, it has to be said that this seriously reduces Portugal's attacking efficiency from free kicks.

Especially after he became obsessed, he even missed shots in positions that were clearly only suitable for crossing during the 2024 European Championship.

Once the set-piece template is unlocked, we must secure the position of Portugal's first-choice free-kick taker!

On the coach's bench, Pereira couldn't suppress a smile. How to use Mario's powerful long-range shots to create threats was something he had been asking everyone to do on the training ground.

The effects are very noticeable now!

After several rounds of league and Champions League matches, backed by dazzling statistics, Super Mario's threat at the edge of the penalty area is practically a nuclear bomb!