Austria Wien suffered a 3-1 defeat against Benfica in the UEFA Women’s Champions League after conceding three goals following a 53rd-minute equalizer.
Elisa Pfattner had an immediate chance for the visitors in the opening minute at the 68,000-capacity Estádio da Luz, but Benfica struck first when Norton converted an attack down the right side from close range in the fifth minute, sport.ORF.at reported. Despite several chances before halftime, the Austrian double-winners failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
The visitors leveled the score in the 53rd minute when Benfica goalkeeper Lena Pauels brought down Valentina Pötzl inside the penalty area. Captain Carina Wenninger converted the resulting spot-kick securely for her first career goal in the premier European competition.
“Es war ein ganz gutes Spiel gegen einen starken Gegner, der das Momentum auf seiner Seite gehabt hat,” said Wenninger, as reported by sport.ORF.at. “Sie haben ein schnellest Tor gemacht, wir haben uns aber nicht unterkriegen lassen und waren gut in der Partie. Zweite Hälfte war es sehr lange offen, am Ende war es mit einer Spielerin weniger schwierig, noch einmal zurückzukommen.”
The turning point arrived in the 73rd minute when Austria goalkeeper Jasmin Pal received a straight red card for a professional foul. With the visitors down to ten players, Benfica capitalized immediately through a set-piece sequence. Following a free-kick and subsequent corner, the unmarked Caroline Möller scored the go-ahead goal in the 76th minute.
Verena Hanshaw failed to cleanly strike the ball at the edge of the six-yard box in the 60th minute, while substitute Almedina Sisic missed the target in the 66th minute. In stoppage time, Nycole Raysla secured the 3-1 final score in the 93rd minute after Pauels had denied another attempt from Pfattner.
“Wir haben aber Austria Wien würdig vertreten,” Wenninger told sport.ORF.at, noting the bitterness of leaving empty-handed despite a resilient performance.
The fixture required a 24-hour postponement after Storm Charles swept through Lisbon with hurricane-force gusts reaching up to 140 km/h, according to LAOLA1 and Wettbasis. The Portuguese government issued an official weather warning, forcing UEFA to reschedule the match from Wednesday to Thursday.
The visiting squad received the news of the cancellation while at the airport in Portugal on Tuesday, forcing the team to spend their Wednesday confined to the hotel, LAOLA1 reported. The rescheduling created severe domestic fixture congestion, rendering a planned domestic league match against Red Bull Salzburg less than 48 hours after the final whistle in Lisbon impossible.
Following four of six matches in the group stage, Austria sits at the bottom of the standings with one point, leaving qualification for the top twelve teams a distant prospect, sport.ORF.at noted. Wettbasis said that Austria earned their sole point earlier in the campaign via a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan, while Benfica secured their only prior victory by defeating Italian opposition 2-1.
Austria’s remaining group stage schedule features demanding fixtures against Bayern München at home and Manchester City away. Domestically, the postponed clash against Salzburg must be shifted into the new year due to upcoming international breaks and a rescheduled fixture against SCR Altach, LAOLA1 reported.
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