Derby County fall to heavy Benfica defeat in pre-season friendly

Derby County have ended their Algarve Cup campaign with a resounding 4-0 defeat to Portuguese champions Benfica this evening.

The Rams, who suffered a 1-0 reverse against Vitoria de Guimaraes in their opening game of the competition on Friday, were a goal behind inside just 15 minutes.

Nelson Semedo blasted a shot from long range that flew past Scott Carson to give the Eagles an early advantage that their dominant play deserved.

There was very nearly a second for Semedo when he curled his latest effort narrowly wide of the post, while Carson had to be alert to push aside a Goncalo Guedes shot.

Derby were having little joy inside the opening hour of the match, seeing their best opening come and go when Darren Bent failed to divert his attempt on target under pressure inside the box.

The Championship outfit did look to step things up in search of a leveller through some smart Andreas Weimann and Tom Ince play, but it was Benfica who added a second thanks to Rui Fonte's close-range header.

That led to an onslaught from the Rui Vitoria's men, who had a third of the evening courtesy of Andre Almeida and a fourth when Eduardo Salvio converted just a few yards out to round off County's misery.