Benfica’s ‘Eagles’ claim 21st Portuguese Cup title with victory over Leixões

In an exciting final, Sport LISBOA e Benfica claimed their 21st title in the men’s Portuguese Cup by defeating Leixões SC/Mercainox 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-19) at Nave Costa Pereira, in the Matosinhos Sports and Congress Centre.

The match, played before a near-capacity crowd, was marked by a balanced start, with both teams showcasing a high-level performance. However, Benfica demonstrated greater consistency, especially in serving and reception, which paved the way for effective attacks by their middle blockers.

This is the seventh trophy for the ‘Eagles’ in the last ten editions of the Portuguese Cup (they had previously triumphed in 2014/2015, 2015/2016, 2017/2018, 2018/2019, 2021/2022, 2022/2023). Back in the 2019/2020 season, the competition final did not take place due to outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Benfica have claimed the last four titles all under the guidance of Brazilian coach Marcel Matz.

“I believe that what made the difference was the volume of defensive play between serve/block and transition, which complemented each other very well,” stated Matz after the win. The coach also highlighted the importance of André Aleixo’s experience, which “gave the team much tranquillity.”

Tiago Sineiro, Leixões’ coach, congratulated Benfica on their victory and acknowledged the opponent’s superiority in the decisive moments. “Congratulations to Benfica, because they won well. They showed great maturity in the decisive moments and, above all, served very well, and we suffered a lot from that,” he said.

With this triumph, Benfica reinforces its position as the dominant force in Portugal and gains motivation for the defence of their national league title. Leixões, on the other hand, now focuses on the championship quarterfinals, where they will face Castêlo da Maia.

In the semi-finals played on Saturday, Leixões had beaten Castêlo da Maia GC by 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21, 21-25, 18-16) and Benfica had defeated Ala Nun’Álvares de Gondomar in straight sets (25-18, 25-20, 25-12).