Everton can have few complaints after losing out 2-0 to a classy Benfica side at Goodison Park in Thursday night's Europa league clash, handing the Portuguese side their first away win in seven European outings.
Having been thrashed 5 goals to nil in Portugal, Everton boss David Moyes stressed his side's commitment to regain their pride before the kick-off.
But it was the Portuguese outfit who dominated the affair once again, with the highlight of a tight first half coming at the end of the first half, with only the woodwork denying Ramieres from putting the visitors ahead, before Tim Howard's fine reaction stop kept Saviola from grabbing the rebound.
But the Benfica stalwart showed his class just after the hour mark, after a fortunate bounce allowed him to complete a beautifully worked counter attack to send the visitors ahead.
Oscar Cardozo then sent the game beyond reach of the hosts, as he converted a second on 76 minutes, finishing nicely on the half-volley to slide the ball across a helpless Tim Howard.
Everton boss David Moyes acknowledged his side were outplayed on the night.
He said: "I think Benfica are a good side and it was a tough game but it was tighter than the last one.
"We became a little open in the second half, maybe trying to score, and we got done on the counter for the first goal. We still had four defenders back though, and the goals weren't like the goals in Benfica.
"One ricocheted off our player and fell to them, so I didn't think the goals were beautiful; they were poor defensive moments for us.
"Tonight we did lack quality going forward, but we knew that before the game, it wasn't something that surprised us.
"We are trying to talk about the players in the team and give them some confidence and some of them did okay, there were one or two good performances."
Benfica are now three points clear at the top of the Group I table, with a total of 9, while Everton are second on 6. A draw between FC BATE and AEK Athens left the other two teams in the group on 4 points each.
Pre-Match:
Everton face Benfica at Goodison Park tonight, desperate to avoid a repeat of the 5-0 thrashing in Portugal.
Injury-troubled David Moyes will be aware that a much weakened substitutes bench means nothing but a top-drawer performance from his starting 11 will be good enough, with Tim Cahill opting to play through the pain of a slight injury to fight for Everton's Europa Cup survival.
However, Louis Saha's recent calf strain, and long-term absences for Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar mean Dan Gosling earns another start, and the out of form Marouanne Fellaini gets another opportunity to prove himself to the sceptical home fans.
Both sides are expected to qualify for the knock-out phases of the competition, but a win tonight would send the Blues three points clear at the top of Group I, and improved the Toffee's chances of a favourable draw in the next round.
The Goodison Park faithful will doubtless be expecting their side to take advantage of Benfica's poor away form in the competition, with the Portuguese outfit failing to win in their last seven outings away from home.
Starting line-ups:
Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Yobo, Distin, Baines, Gosling, Fellaini, Rodwell, Bilyaletdinov, Cahill, Yakubu. Subs: Nash, Jo, Coleman, Duffy, Agard, Baxter, Wallace.
Benfica: Julio Cesar, Ruben Amorim, Sidnei, Luisao, David Luiz, Di Maria, Ramires, Javi Garcia, Fabio Coentrao, Cardozo, Saviola. Subs: Quim, Shaffer, Aimar, Maxi Pereira, Weldon, Nuno Gomes, Felipe Menezes.
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