Benfica and Ajax keep their chances intact for a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a wonderful match in Lisbon. Ajax dominated in the first half and went to rest with a deserved 1-2 lead, but Benfica fought its way back into the match after the break. Old acquaintance Yaremchuk took care of the deserved equalizer 20 minutes before the end.
Benfica – Ajax in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Supported by the fanatical home supporters, Benfica diligently searched for the equalizer in the second half. It arrives twenty minutes before the end. Pasveer’s save from a shot by Ramos is not perfect and Yaremchuk takes advantage.
- Man of the match: Noussair Mazraoui was valuable for Ajax both defensively and offensively. The right back excelled with his accelerations, running actions, clever interventions and ball feeling. The Moroccan presented Tadic with the 0-1 and with some luck could have taken care of the 1-3 himself.
- Remarkable: You should do it anyway. Play your first season in the Champions League and show off as the top scorer with 11 goals after 7 matches. Sebastian Haller was also at the appointment tonight. The Ivorian was not upset by his own goal and also took his goal in the Estadio da Luz.
Hallerbest Ajax makes Benfica suffer
After a historic 18 out of 18 in the group stage, Ajax just kept going in the Estadio da Luz. High pace and high pressure, Benfica had a hard time with it. After less than 20 minutes, a wonderful attack on the 0-1 turned out. Mazraoui found Tadic in front of goal and he opened the score with a beautiful brushstroke.
None other than Vertonghen made sure that Benfica came alongside again around half an hour. He turned freely in the sixteen and Haller unfortunately worked his low cross into his own goal.
The Ivorian erased his own goal barely 3 minutes later. Under pressure from Vertonghen, he first collided with a save by Vlachodimos, but in the resumption it was hit. Number 11 for the top scorer in the Champions League.
Shortly before half time, Haller almost added another one. After a wonderful through pass from Antony, Alvarez aimed at the post from a sharp angle, Haller was too surprised to tap the rebound into goal.
Yaremchuk gives Benfica a deserved equalizer
Benfica came out of the locker room a lot more aggressively. The home team fearlessly started the chase for the equalizer and the hour was almost there. Nunez came in just too late on a low cross from Silva.
It went from almost 2-2 to almost 1-3. Martinez brought Mazraoui with a lovely pass for Vlachodimos, but the Moroccan’s shot hit the keeper. On the other side, star Silva continued to unpack with wonderful passes, but substitute Yaremchuk was also unable to finish.
In the end, the ex-player of AA Gent made the Estadio da Luz burst at the seams 20 minutes before the end. Pasveer parried a far shot from Ramos, but didn’t clear the ball far enough and Yaremchuk headed in the equalizer.
Benfica didn’t hit anymore and the tank at Ajax was also empty. After a thrilling first leg, the battle is still completely open for the return leg in the Johan Cruijff ArenA on March 15.
