Valencian defender Álex Grimaldo said this Saturday that his team, Benfica, needs “many changes” to win the title in Portugal again when taking stock of the season after the defeat against Porto, who were proclaimed champions in Da Luz (0 -one).
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In statements to the club’s channel after the defeat, the 26-year-old Valencian winger admitted his “disappointment” with the season, in which Benfica “wasn’t good” and asked for “many changes” so that the Reds win again titles after a three-year fast.
“This cannot continue like this. It’s been three years without titles. In almost seven years here I won nine titles and in the last three, none. It’s a disappointment”, lamented Grimaldo, who signed for Benfica in December 2019 from Barça B .
Despite the season of ups and downs for the ‘eagles’, marked by the departure of coach Jorge Jesus in December, Grimaldo is one of the strongest members of the squad and the undisputed starter.
Criticism of arbitration
Regarding this Saturday’s classic, in which Benfica lost 0-1, the Barça-trained winger said that they were better than Porto and criticized the arbitration for annulling Uruguayan Darwin Núñez’s goal in the 51st minute from outside of the game noting that it was “a little weird”.
Darwin, Benfica’s offensive benchmark and top scorer in Portugal’s Primeira Liga with 26 goals, scored after 51 minutes of play, but the goal was annulled because the Uruguayan international was 2 centimeters offside.
“On the field it didn’t seem offside, we had to see that VAR thing, because two centimeters… what a coincidence, it’s a bit strange,” said the winger.
Darwin has already experienced something similar, also in a classic against Porto last December, in the Portuguese Cup, when one of his goals was annulled for being 4 centimeters offside.
One day from the end, Benfica is third, with 71 points, 17 behind the champion, Porto.
