Espanyol are on the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. The Spanish side, after winning 3-2 in the first leg, managed to get a 0-0 draw, which was enough to reach the next stage. Anyway, besides one shot on the post hit by Pandiani on the first half, the main goal opportunities belonged entirely to Benfica, who were quite unfortunate. The home side had superb occasions to score but the post (twice), Iraizoz (frequently) and Nuno Gomes's unbelievable lack of finishing instinct/quality denied The Eagles's ambitions. In fact, such match makes us remind of the recent Benfica - Boavista, where the home side wasted some incredible chances to score. Espanyol are globally fair winners of the round.

This time Espanyol coach Ernesto Valverde decided to bet on a safer 4-2-3-1, with Moisés and Ito playing as the two centre midfielders. They had to hold the lead brought from Barcelona and intelligently they've conceded most of the ball possession to Benfica. Both wingers Luis García and Riera worked very well closing the defensive gaps, whilst De la Peña only had the role to distribute the ball when it arrived on his wonderful right foot. As Tamudo was injured, the Uruguayan Pandiani was given a starting position upfront and he was so close to score but his rainbow hit the post.

As for Benfica, the team were coming from three disappointing results and this was a really decisive game for them. Coach Fernando Santos decided to keep the same centre-back duo but this time he switched their sides. David Luiz moved to the centre-left and Anderson to the centre-right. Anyway, of course that wasn't the reason why Benfica couldn't score one single goal in 90 minutes. There are too many reasons for that.

First, we have to say Espanyol were a very organized team and they did a very fine defensive job. Torrejón won all the aerial balls on his zone, Ito and Moisés did the tackling stuff in the centre midfield (nothing more than that) and, as we said, the wingers ran a lot during the whole match to close any possible gap. Besides goalkeeper Iraizoz, who made plenty of important saves, we also have to mention right-back Zabaleta's performance - great zonal marking, even when he had to run into the middle to follow his opposition. The visitors also showed great personality and the players revealed maturity and character. That was fundamental to hold the result and avoid getting scared by the Estádio da Luz's atmosphere or because of Benfica's high momentum of second half pressing.

Other reasons could be related with the Benfica players' fatigue. Fernando Santos has got no decent options on the bench - especially centre midfielders - so there is no squad rotation along the season. Defensive midfielder Petit, for example, was one of those who was absolutely tired and was miles away from his usual level. Katsouranis is another one who was really needing some holidays and that was also the reason Fernando Santos had surprisingly benched him. Benfica have a quite good eleven but if you don't have bench players to rotate, those good eleven players will soon get tired. And that's what's happening at the moment.

This is a very critical moment for Benfica as the domestic league is approaching its end and The Eagles are losing gas. The 4-4-2 diamond has always been Fernando Santos's preferred tactical formation but we have many doubts about the way he does the tactical work on the training sessions, not to mention the motivation and mental work on the players. To sum up, he's a limited coach. On every aspects. If he was more focused on increasing the players' mental strength, with more concentration and ambition, maybe Nuno Gomes had scored that incredible opportunity on the second half (open goal and shot precisely to where the goalkeeper was...). And maybe he wouldn't be smiling on the bench during the previous league match at Beira-Mar when the result was a poor 1-1 with only ten minutes to end.

There are some behaviours we watch at Benfica and we don't watch on real top teams. It's on those details we are forced to conclude Fernando Santos hasn't got the necessary ability. But, as we said, he's not the man to blame when no players have arrived during the last transfer window. There are no decent central midfielders to replace the starters in case the latters need a rest. And if they were? Would they play? Left-back Leo has been tired since a long time ago and Miguelito never came for his place. What about Nélson, the other fullback. It's absolutely unacceptable how he continues with all those silly mistakes. Both defensive and offensive. Anyway, the Nélson issue hasn't got to do with fatigue. But intelligence.

Benfica paid a lot for having conceded three goals at Barcelona but when you see Nuno Gomes wasting such goals you can't go anywhere, even with Rui Costa playing beautifully. Benfica's pressure on the first minutes of the second half was very intensive and that was the period when they should have scored. Espanyol are fair winners of the quarter-finals and now Valverde is hoping to have Tamudo back from injury. Anyway, Pandiani (10 goals in this season's UEFA Cup) will suit perfectly. Before ending the report, let's also praise Brazilian midfielder Jônatas who was quite important hold the ball in the final minutes - great technique and awareness.