Benfica vs Juventus: Champions League Exit Looms | Match Report

Benfica’s mission in the Champions League went from impossible to very impossible, if we can put it in those terms. This Thursday, the “reds” suffered another defeat in the league phase, losing 2-0 to Juventus in Turin in the 7th round. José Mourinho’s team will enter the final round with just six points, in 29th place, absolutely needing to beat Real Madrid at home and hoping that the five teams immediately ahead of them lose – the only good news is that there is no game between their direct competitors. The bad thing is that they all also play for continuity in the Champions League.

Benfica will look back on their Champions League career and think that, in fact, they could have done more and better – in Turin, of course, but also in home games with Qarabag or Leverkusen. And I would avoid doing all the math that you now have to do, counting on a combination of results that only a gambler who likes to take risks would do. Mourinho, who oversaw almost the entire campaign (except the game against the Azerbaijan team, which has almost secured a place in the play-offs), will now have to face another “former”, Real Madrid, and win.

After a more offensive version rehearsed with good results against Rio Ave, Benfica repeated the same in Turin. But the Italian team, in their second home clash with a Portuguese opponent (1-1 draw with Sporting), tried to be the first to dominate the game, taking advantage of the enormous talent of the young Turkish Yildiz. They were the first dangerous shots of the “old lady” – the first, at 9′, was stopped by Trubin, the second at 13′, went wide.

Benfica took a while to free themselves, but managed to apply high pressure to make it difficult for Juventus to come from behind. Many unforced errors led to good “red” approaches, a good shot from Sudakov at 23′, another from Prestianni at 25′. This was Benfica wanting to stay alive in the Champions League and exposing the many weaknesses of this Spaletti team.

The second half seemed to show Benfica in the same style, again causing mistakes and causing panic in the Italian defense – Pavlidis had a dangerous shot in the 50th minute, after a ball won by Sudakov. The sensations were good, but that’s not what the game gave. At their worst moment, Juventus had two goals and took advantage.

At 55′, Juventus benefited from a moment of pressure in the Benfica area. Khéphren Thuram, one of Lilliam’s footballing sons, had a good understanding with Jonathan David, had space to advance into the penalty area and shot well – 1-0. At 64′, McKennie, in an exchange with David, had space in the heart of the area and made no mistake – 2-0.

With everything that was happening to them, Benfica were very close to making it 2-1. An undeniable foul by Bremer on Leandro Barreiro took Pavlidis to the 11 meter mark in the 77th minute. The Greek was the ideal man for this moment – ​​he never fails in these duels. But he slipped and shot wide. This is how Benfica already feels in this Champions League, from the outside.