Nigeria’s no-nonsense queen lifts eighth title with Benfica after shootout win over Sporting CP

The Nigeria international is a valuable asset for the Portuguese giants in midfield, and she was up to the task again on Wednesday night

Super Falcons midfielder Christy Ucheibe has lifted Portugal Women’s Super Cup with Benfica Ladies after they claimed a penalty shootout win over Sporting CP, Soccernet.ng reports.

The match, played at the Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, ended 1-1 in regulation time, but Benfica triumphed 3-0 on penalties to retain the cup they won last year.

League champions Benfica were the clear favourites after their exceptional form in recent weeks, but it took them until the 55th minute before they opened the scoring through Francisca Nazareth.

But Sporting CP responded brilliantly and grabbed their equaliser 18 minutes later thanks to Andrea Norheim’s fine effort.

Both teams could not carve out the winning goal even during extra time, and it was during the penalty shootouts that Benfica’s quality showed through.

Costa, Cintra, and Araujo all converted from the spot for Benfica Ladies, while none of Norheim, Dutra, or Pinto could hit the target for Sporting.

It would be recalled that Ucheibe scored the winning penalty for Benfica during their Super Cup semifinal victory over Braga.

While Benfica Women celebrated a record third Super Cup triumph, it is the second for Ucheibe and her eighth overall for the Portuguese side.

Since joining Benfica in 2020, Ucheibe has won the Campeonato Nacional Feminino three times and the Taça da Liga thrice.

Ucheibe, Nigeria’s no-nonsense midfield enforcer and Africa’s toughest tackler at the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, will aim to add to her three league honours this season.

Benfica Women begin their campaign with an away clash with Torreense on Sunday.