David Moyes saw his depleted Everton side spectacularly dismantled in the space of five second-half minutes at the Estadio da Luz on Thursday night. Any hopes of a recovery in this Europa League match - after Javier Saviola had opened the scoring - vanished as Oscar Cardozo scored twice and Luisao added to the gains to put Benfica on the road to an emphatic victory.

Saviola added a fifth goal - and despite the absence of 11 players, Everton boss Moyes must have been left bewildered at the way the Toffees caved in. In the process, Everton suffered their first defeat in Group I and their first in eight games in all competitions.

Moyes was forced to field two youngsters at full back, with Seamus Coleman making his debut on the left and Dan Gosling on the right.

Everton were always chasing the game, and Luisao should have put Benfica ahead in the fifth minute when he headed wide following a corner from Pablo Aimar.

The home side made the breakthrough in the 14th minute with a superb half-volley from Saviola after a crossfield pass from Angel Di Maria split the defence.

Benfica were winning the majority of possession, but Di Maria saw his effort in front of goal turned away by an alert Sylvain Distin.

Everton pushed up field in the 31st minute, but Marouane Fellaini headed wide following a corner from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. Back came Benfica, and Nascimento Ramires headed across the face of the goal - with Di Maria supplying the delivery.

Everton, though, were gradually beginning to threaten - and Bilyaletdinov thumped a shot wide in the 34th minute. Then the Russian cut inside but failed to test goalkeeper Julio Cesar, sending his effort over the bar.

Benfica launched a swift counter-attack in the 39th minute, only for Ramires to find the side-netting from an acute angle. Three minutes later, Bilyaletdinov found himself clear on the right. He was showing good initiative, but his decision-making was poor as he tried his luck on goal when there were other options - and the ball ran out of play.

Everton made a shocking start to the second half and suddenly found themselves 3-0 down. Cardozo scored both at the back post, the first with a close-range finish in the 46th minute, the second a header 60 seconds later. Saviola and Di Maria set up the goals, and it was becoming a defensive nightmare for Everton without the likes of several experienced players.

Then Luisao increased their misery in the 52nd minute - extending Benfica’s lead to 4-0 after Coleman made a desperate but vain attempt to keep the ball out.

Three minutes later, Di Maria smashed a shot against the bar as Everton struggled to regroup. Then Di Maria tested goalkeeper Tim Howard from 20 yards.

Cardozo was finding acres of space down the right but sent a tame shot into Howard’s arms. However, the Paraguayan brought out a fine save from the goalkeeper in the 66th minute when he somehow managed to block his effort.

Benfica made it 5-0 in the 84th minute when Saviola got his second of the match after a cross from Di Maria. Everton were chasing shadows, and the final whistle must have come as a huge relief to Moyes and his players - not to mention the 6,000 travelling fans.

Moyes was keen to put a positive spin on the situation, stating: “That was the best team we had tonight. I have got to say they did the best they could and as good as they could. I have only praise for them. I have said to the players this is a different competition than the league, we’ve had two wins and one defeat. It is not too bad.

“Obviously tonight’s defeat was not what we wanted but I would like to play Benfica with my best side. They have a good attitude and showed their attacking qualities in the second half and capitalised on several mistakes we made in that spell and took their opportunities very well. It shows them (the youngsters) the level they have to play at to get to the top.”

Moyes singled out Benfica’s Argentinian midfielder Angel Di Maria for praise, stating: “I thought he was like an attacking full back, more of a winger. He did so many good things. He would have given a proper full back tonight a real difficult game.”

To add to Moyes’ injury woes, Russian winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov ended the match with a strapping to his thigh and is doubtful for the Premier League match at Bolton on Sunday. Moyes added: “We will need to assess him when we get back as well. I am not sure either yet who might be fit for the weekend.”
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