Benfica vs. Bayern Munich: Score, Reaction from 2016 Champions League, Leg 2
Bayern Munich booked their spot in the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a 2-2 draw at Benfica on Wednesday, taking the aggregate score of their quarter-final tie to 3-2 in favour of the Germans.
Raul Jimenez gave the visitors a slight scare with a shock goal in the first half, but Arturo Vidal restored ordered shortly after, scoring with a volley to hand Bayern the away-goal advantage. Benfica never threatened the Germans' spot in the semi-finals again, particularly after Thomas Muller gave Bayern the lead.
Anderson Talisca gave the home fans a glimmer of hope with a late goal, but a comeback never seemed likely.
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As shared by Bayern's official Twitter account, star forward Robert Lewandowski started on the bench, while Xabi Alonso made the starting XI:
The Bavarians were far from their best during the first leg, and they seemed determined to put Benfica away early at the Estadio da Luz. Led by Alonso, who looked fantastic dictating the pace early, they pushed the hosts back inside their own half and let the ball do the work.
With Jonas and Kostas Mitroglou both sidelined, Benfica's attack was without its top two weapons, and it showed early. The Portuguese side barely crossed midfield before a Bavarian leg poked the ball loose, and creativity was lacking.
Vidal reigned in midfield, and per Bundesliga writer Cristian Nyari, that should no longer be a surprise at this point:
"Quite remarkable how important Vidal has become to Bayern, especially in the Champions League. #SLBFCB
— Cristian Nyari (@CrisNyari) April 13, 2016"
But while Bayern dominated possession, the visitors didn't create many chances early. Jardel had to make several key clearances to keep out Douglas Costa and Muller, and Franck Ribery looked lively. But goalkeeper Ederson Moraes, the hero of the first leg, didn't have much to do during the first 25 minutes.
Muller fired a shot wide from a promising position, and Vidal powered a header straight to the stopper. But overall, Bayern looked wasteful. Costa in particular couldn't find his best form, as his dribbling let him down out wide.
Benfica didn't present much of a threat in the counter-attack, but with their first look on goal, they shocked the visitors by scoring. Eliseu ran deep into the Bavarian half before firing a perfect cross into the path of Jimenez, and Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer missed his interception, handing the forward an open goal as a result.
Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe was shocked:
BT Sport's Archie Rhind-Tutt shared these images, showing how the German goalkeeper was caught in no-man's land:
Neuer redeemed himself just minutes later, as Jimenez came close to doubling his tally. Joshua Kimmich missed his interception, and the Benfica man didn't hesitate. But Neuer quickly closed down the space and made a smart block.
Suddenly, Benfica looked the better team, and chances started to fall for the hosts. But just as manager Pep Guardiola's troops appeared to be in trouble, Vidal pulled his side level with a stunning half-volley, stemming the tide.
Benfica failed to clear Philipp Lahm's cross further than the Chilean, and the former Juventus man didn't hesitate, firing the ball past Ederson. This fan shared a GIF of the shot:
The goal changed the momentum of the match completely, as Benfica were now reeling. Suddenly, Ribery and Costa started finding plenty of space out wide, and Vidal tried his luck with another volley, riffling the ball over the crossbar this time around.
Despite the late pressure, Benfica kept the Bavarians out until half-time. Things didn't look good for the hosts, however, as Vidal's away goal meant Benfica needed to beat Bayern by two or more goals.
Unsurprisingly, Bayern continued to push forward after the break, with Ribery looking ever more threatening down the wing. He did well to service Thiago Alcantara, who had beaten the offside trap just minutes into the second half, but his cross just couldn't reach Muller.
The Germany international had more success shortly after, as Javi Martinez cleverly picked him out with a header after a corner from Alonso, and Muller easily slotted home.
Costa nearly made it 3-1 almost immediately from the restart, but Ederson quickly came off his line to stop the Brazilian before he could get his shot off. Costa then hit the woodwork with a stunning drive, as Bayern were all over Benfica.
The hosts barely saw the ball early in the second half, although Andre Almeida did put Neuer to work with a shot from distance.
DW Sports assumed the tie was over with 20 minutes left to play:
Vidal was lucky not to get booked for a trip Mehdi Carcela, as he would have been suspended for the first leg of the semi-finals had the official deemed the offence worthy of a yellow card.
Muller thought he had scored a second goal after he bundled a ball over the line after some smart work from Ribery, but the Frenchman was called back for offside. The German then nearly took advantage of a horror error from Ederson, who almost let the ball slip under him while making a routine save.
Martinez leveled Goncalo Guedes on the edge of the box, a foul for which he could have gotten a red card but only saw a yellow, and Talisca beautifully converted the resulting free-kick, curling a shot past Neuer and putting Benfica within two goals of a semi-final spot.
The hosts had no choice but to push forward, which opened up plenty of space for Costa to take advantage of. The Brazilian almost single-handedly kept the counter-attacking threat alive, not allowing Benfica to throw all of their players into the Bayern box.
Talisca came close to doubling his tally with another fine free-kick, but this time, he couldn't get the ball on target. That would be the final major chance of the match, as Bayern easily saw out the final minutes.
Guardiola's men dominated Benfica for large stretches, but similar to the first leg, the Germans again failed to turn all that dominance into more than a handful of chances. Things will only get harder moving forward, and the Bavarians will have to be a lot more clinical to survive the semi-finals.
Bayern will meet old rivals Schalke 04 on Saturday as they continue their quest for the Bundesliga title, while Benfica will host Vitoria de Setubal in the Portuguese league on Monday.
Post-Match Reaction
Muller is already looking forward to the next challenge:
As shared by Bayern English, Lahm praised his team's resilience after the early setback:
The Bavarians haven't been forced to deal with setbacks that often in the 2015-16 campaign, and the tie with Benfica was a nice test for Guardiola's men. The Portuguese side proved to be very resilient on the defensive end, something the clubs still in Champions League contention all have in common.
Bayern will have to improve to beat the likes of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid or Manchester City, but they certainly have the talent to go all the way.
