8pm GMT Kick Off, Estadio da Luz, Champions League Qualifier 1st Leg
Benfica Hold Onto A First Leg Advantage After PSV Pushed For An Equaliser In The Second Half
Benfica went 2-0 ahead just before half time, as Julian Weigl added to Rafa Silva’s early opener. Cody Gakpo grabbed one in the second half, but couldn’t get another to level the scores on the night.
In the 10th minute, Benfica took the lead. Roman Yaremchuk plays the ball into the path of Rafa Silva. He picks up the ball in the box and rolls it past Joel Drommel to give the Portuguese team the lead.
Benfica nearly added a second. This time it was Rafa that played in Yaremchuk, who got away from his marker. He looked like he would double the lead, but he was deemed offside.
PSV did put the ball in the net, as Eran Zahavi made a run off the back off the defender, and curled his effort into the net, but just like Yaremchuk moments before, he was offside.
Benfica controlled much of the game, but PSV had a chance to draw level. A ball was played over the top, which Cody Gakpo ran onto, he struck the ball goalward, which stung the palms of Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Benfica doubled their lead just before the break through Julian Weigl. The ball bounces around the box from a corner, and it falls for the German. He takes his time and fires it into the roof of the net.
Just after the half time whistle, Benfica had a chance to wrap the tie up, as Yaremchuk picked up the ball just outside the box and had a golden oppurtunity. He took the shot which was just wide of the target.
PSV were desperate for a goal, and nearly got one back after a ball was floated into the box and met by the head of Marco Van Ginkel. The Greek goalkeeper was there to tip it wide.
It didn’t take long for PSV to get one back. Gakpo drives forward with the ball from the halfway line to the edge of the box. He shifted it onto his right and curled it into the bottom corner, past Vlachodimos pull the Dutch club back into the match.
PSV came extremely close to pulling the game level. A ball was played into the box, which Zahavi flicked towards the goal. Luckily for Benfica, Vlachodimos was there to claw it away from danger.
Man Of The Match: Rafa Silva
Despite not creating much in the second half, Rafa was the difference between the two teams this evening.
He got himself an early goal, and created a lot of chances for his team. In the second half, he played slightly deeper, and supported his teammates while defending.
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Final Whistle 