Benfica survive scare to earn victory in first match without Rui Vitoria

Benfica came from 2-0 down to win 4-2 against a spirited Rio Ave side, with teenage star João Felix the standout performer.

With Bruno Lage in the dugout for the first time, things did not get off to a great start for the interim manager and his side, with a poor defensive showing allowing Gabrielzinho to eventually tap the ball home to put the visitors in front after just a quarter of an hour.

Things got much worse for Benfica very quickly, with Rio Ave again given too much time on the ball before the ball was whipped in for Bruno Moreira to head home.

Not even 20 minutes gone, and Benfica were 2-0 down.

However, with plenty of time to respond, Benfica quickly took steps to correct the scoreline, with a beautiful passing move from the hosts that saw João Felix drive forwards before dummying Grimaldo's low cross, letting the ball pass through his legs to Seferovic behind him, who turned and shot past the keeper and into the back of the net, seeing Benfica pull one back in the 26th minute.

And as is often the case, one led to two for Benfica, this time the creative João Felix turning finisher, his good movement in the box seeing him burst towards the front post before slotting home.

The 19-year old was clearly delighted with his impact as he sprinted away in jubilation.

And he wasn't done yet. 

In the 64th minute, Felix showed great movement again to get his second of the game, moving into the box to get onto the end of Zivkovic's low cross, flicking the ball into the far corner past the keeper.

Seferovic finished off the game in the 70th minute, rounding off a fine counter-attacking move by slotting the ball into the back of the net.

The victory sees Benfica move up to 3rd in the table, still 4 points behind leaders Porto who even have a game in hand.