Braga turn the game around to defeat Midtjylland in tough Europa League battle
Braga came out on top in a challenging battle with Danish outfit Midtjylland, earning a 3-1 home victory - after falling behind through a first half Evander Ferreira penalty - to give their Europa League ambitions a major boost.
It was a disappointing first half display from Carlos Carvalhal’s side, who failed to create too many clear-cut chances and were sloppy in possession, which allowed their opponents to gain the upper hand.
Indeed, it was Midtjylland who struck first, Diogo Leite leaving a careless trailing leg extended to bring down his man in the box, allowing the referee to give the penalty which was confidently converted by Brazilian Evander to open the scoring.
Braga would, however, get the chance to level the match before half time thanks to a blistering counter-attack that led to a three-on-one situation for Braga. Galeno ultimately failed to capitalise when charging into the opposition box on the overload, but was fortuitously awarded a penalty after squandering by far Braga’s biggest opportunity of the game.
Captain Ricardo Horta was the man chosen to take the spot-kick, but he failed to take advantage, going for power down the middle which allowed Olafsson to save, rounding off what was a frustrating half of football for SC Braga.
In the second half, Braga stepped up, with substitute Mario Gonzalez having a significant impact on proceedings. He began by winning Braga their second penalty on the night, which was awarded after a VAR review. On this occasion Galeno stepped up to take, and he made no mistake, calmly slotting into the back of the net in the 55th minute to give his side a crucial leveller.
Braga, with plenty of time remaining to get the winner, had newfound belief, and it didn’t take long for them to completely turn the game on its head, Ricardo Horta getting onto the scoresheet after a shot ricocheted off Mario Gonzalez and fell invitingly into the path of the Portuguese winger.
Midtjylland, however, did not lose faith, and created several chances to get back onto level terms as Braga looked to defend their slender advantage. Their hopes of a comeback of their own were stifled with 6 minutes left on the clock though when Juninho was shown a straight red card for a cynical foul which stopped Braga breaking in a one-on-one situation.
And Braga would only add icing to the cake late on, with Mario Gonzalez running through in the 95th minute in another excellent Braga counter-attack before slotting the ball across to Galeno, who made no mistake in rolling the ball home for his brace.
It sees Braga shoot up to 2nd in the league table, finally getting some points on the board in their Europa League campaign. They next face Ludogorets in Europe, first travelling to Bulgaria on the 21st October before inviting the same opposition to Portugal on the 4th November.
Andre Horta. Photo author: Анна Нэсси. License link.
