Thomson, the teacher

the game

the teams were a bit reluctant to go all out and did not use their best football. However there were some good scoring chances, Cardozo was the man of big opportunities and that BIG second free kick goal. The most important is that there were no ref errors and in the second leg we can predict a very good match with two anxious teams, they will do their best to get to go to Dublin.

the ref..good

I liked Thomson's job. It was obvious that he studied the teams before the game. He knew some of the players' tricks already and he had previous games with both teams. Proof of that was the early YC that controlled the players very well. I also liked his teaching way: he was always very calm and disciplinarian, avoiding the card solution. His card management was good and consistent during the match.

and not so good

For the negative aspects: not that much to say. Thomson needs to improve in a more authoritarian way when the teaching way isn't working. A situation with Maxi Pereira who appeared to act a "small aggression" when a Braga player was on the ground was solved with a hearty talk by the ref but no disciplinary action. That was only a provocative action by Benfica's player but disciplinary action was plausible in this situation.

About assistants.

In general good. The only one who was below the others, with a negative performance for me was AR1 (Andrews). Many times too late and with bad positioning. This resulted in some bad off-side calls.

2nd leg

With a total Portuguese domination of the EL the game in Municipal Braga will be funny to watch. Who will be in Dublin with Portuguese champions Porto? And the ref? Will UEFA repeat the British recipe with Atkinson on the lead? Or Kassai? or Skomina? A lot of valid options, I hope the men in charge can do just as good a job as Thomson.