A glimpse into the future? Match ball in Portuguese Cup final is delivered via drone

The Portuguese Cup final between Benfica and Vitoria Guimaraes got underway in bizarre fashion on 28 May, with the match ball being delivered by a man flying in on a drone.

Wearing what appeared to be protective clothing, the man took off on a large drone carrying the match ball from the race track inside Lisbon's Estadio Nacional and was airborne for around 20 seconds.

The drone flew to the halfway line and landed after hovering above the ground briefly, with the man then delivering the ball to the match official.

Benfica won the final 2-1 to add the Portuguese Cup to their league title.

After the first half ended goalless, Raul Jimenez and Eduardo Silva scored early in the second half to put Benfica in command at the Estadio Nacional.

Bongani Zungu scored with 10 minutes left on the clock to raise Vitoria's hopes, but they could not force an equaliser.

It marked the 11th time Benfica have sealed a league and cup double.