He won’t be getting nominated for an Oscar award anytime soon
Benfica’s Nicolas Otamendi was sent off in their defeat to arch rivals FC Porto on Thursday night following some rather dramatic acting after he caught Luis Diaz in the face.
Benfica were comfortably beaten in the Portuguese Cup by Porto – losing 3-0 and further mounting the pressure on manager Jorge Jesus, with the Argentinian’s red summing up their sorry state of affairs.
By this point, Benfica were already 3-0 down before Otamendi promptly caught Diaz in the face with a more-than aggressive shoulder barge.
Despite replays clearly showing it was the defender who had instigated the foul, he instead opted to throw himself to the floor clutching his face as if he had been elbowed.
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The more you watch it, the more you question just what exactly he thought he was doing.
Thankfully the referee didn’t buy into his questionable antics and had no hesitation in sending off the 33-year-old. It’s more likely that it was for the original challenge, but the dreadful acting definitely played a part.
Otamendi has been a regular name in the Benfica side since his move from Manchester City as part of the deal which saw Ruben Dias head to the Etihad Stadium and has featured 23 times this season.
Benfica will have chance to get revenge on their rivals in just a few days time when they meet at the Estádio do Dragão in a game which could put a massive dent in one side’s title challenge with Porto currently four points ahead of third-placed Benfica at present.
Related links:
- Jordi Alba goes full Rivaldo as Koundé sees red vs Barcelona
- Sergio Ramos picks up 27th red card of his career in third game for PSG
- UEFA confirm Felipe red card was for foul, not ignoring the referee
