With the right… but also a lot of stress in his new era Champions League or Benfica!
The “eagles” of Lisbon had a difficult time with Belgrade and “Maracana”, prevailing 2-1 of Red Starin the premiere of the two teams in the League Phase of the top inter-club competition!
Essentially, the Portuguese “cleared” the case of victory from the first half, thanks to the goals of Akturkoglou and Koktsu, with the hosts upping the ante in the replay, reducing to the final score in the 86th minute with Milson.
As for him Vangelis Pavlidis, who made his Champions League debut, played as a starter, giving way in the 88th minute to Amduni.
The game had a very good pace from the very beginning of the match, with the Benfica to threaten for the first time only in the 2nd minute with him Akturkoglou. The Portuguese’s pressure only paid off in the 9th minute when, after a magical pass from Di Maria, Ba turned from the right at the far post, with 25-year-old Turkish winger to be thrown and with projection to write 0-1, “freezing” the Maracana!
The first remarkable phase for him Red Star came in the 18th minute with Duarte’s powerful shot impressively saved by Trupin, while, three minutes later, Vangelis Pavlidis he “touched” the goal for the visitors, with Glaser stopping the Greek forward’s diagonal shot.
Just before the half-hour of the game, and specifically in the 29th minute, the “eagles” of Lisbon doubled their goals with a masterful free kick by the other Turk of the team, Kokçu, who left the opposing keeper… a statue! From the home side, all they could do until the end of the first 45 minutes was to threaten with Ivanic’s powerful shot in the 40th minute.
The scene was quite different in second half, where the “red and whites” of Belgrade took control of the tempo, with Benfica reduced – on purpose – to a more passive role, protecting that two-goal safety “cushion”. However, no matter how hard the home team tried, they could not create enough serious and dangerous moments in front of the opponent’s goal, with the Portuguese defending properly and effectively “turning off” the match.
It is characteristic that the only “clean” phase for Red Stars to re-enter the competition for the match was in the 65th minute with his good shot Entiga. For its part, Benfica “touched” the third goal in the 83rd minute with his long shot Di Maria to pass slightly above the beams.
And while everything seemed that the game would end at 0-2, came in the 86th minute the amazing cooperation of Ediage and Milson in the great area of the Portuguese, with the latter ideally placing Trupin, reducing to 1-2! In the first minute of stoppage time, Amduni sent the ball onto the post with a terrific shot, wasting a great chance for Benfica to find another goal.
The lineups in detail:
Red Star (Vladan Milojevic): Glaser, Mimovic (26′ Dalzio), Diga, Spajic, Seol, Krunic (82′ Ilic), Elsnik, Silas, Ivanic, Duarte (71′ Ediage), Olaginka (71′ Milson).
Benfica (Bruno Lazier): Trupin, Ba (37′ Cabore), Otamendi, Antonio Silva, Carreras, Koktsu (88′ Barreiro), Florentino, Di Maria (88′ Beste), Akturkoglou, Rolheiser (56′ Orsens), Pavlidis (88′ Amduni).
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
