Flamengo edges Benfica 2-1 in heated Troféu do Algarve as Wallace Yan settles a tense friendly

Early tensions and Prestianni’s cold reception

Jaden Umeh, starting for Benfica, was forced off with a knock before the half-hour mark. Gianluca Prestianni entered and was immediately jeered by Flamengo supporters, carrying over the controversy he was involved in with Vinícius Júnior last season. Moments later Emerson Royal crunched into a tackle on the left flank, and soon after Erick Pulgar flattened the Benfica No. 25. Fábio Veríssimo showed Pulgar a yellow card, but the temperature kept rising.

On the sideline both technical areas clashed around the 39th minute, with Leonardo Jardim stepping forward to demand answers. Marco Silva eventually spoke with his compatriot, and the officials restored order before play continued.

First-half stoppage-time flurry

Just as the half seemed to slip away scoreless, Emerson Royal whipped a cross from the right and Samuel Lino darted between the centre-backs to glance a header past Anatoliy Trubin in the 45+5th minute. The lead lasted barely three minutes. Alexander Bah was chopped down inside the area and referee Veríssimo pointed to the spot. Vangelis Pavlidis dispatched the penalty low and hard, levelling at 1-1 in the 45+8th minute.

Wallace Yan settles it from the bench

After the interval both coaches rang the changes, and the game stayed tight until the 68th minute. Samuel Lino, now operating on the right, delivered another dangerous cross. Wallace Yan, who had come off the bench, arrived ahead of António Silva and steered the ball into the net for 2-1. Benfica pushed for an equaliser and Franjo Ivanović forced Agustín Rossi into a save from close range in the 82nd minute, but Flamengo held on.

What comes next

Benfica return to the same Algarve pitch on Friday at 19:45, facing Villarreal in their next pre-season test.