- Vangelis Pavlidis - 16'
- Orkun Kökçü - 80'
Benfica progress to playoffs with 2-0 win at Juventus
Benfica secured their place in the Champions League playoffs with a 2-0 win at Juventus, who were already assured of their playoff spot going into the final league phase game on Wednesday.
Benfica finished 16th in the standings, on 13 points, and will face either AS Monaco or Brest in the playoffs, while Juventus, on 12 points, ended up 20th and will meet AC Milan or PSV Eindhoven.
The opening goal came from Vangelis Pavlidis in the 16th minute and after the sides returned to the pitch after the interval to the sound of Metallica's Enter Sandman, Orkun Kökçü's goal 10 minutes from time sealed the win.
Juventus came into the match highly unlikely to clinch a top-eight spot to qualify automatically for the last 16, even with a win, while Benfica had everything to play for.
Benfica were on the attack from the off, with Ángel Di María whipping the ball across the face of goal which Pavlidis just missed siding in at the back post.
The hosts responded with a header from Samuel Mbangula which keeper Anatoliy Trubin palmed away, before Benfica had another chance when Andreas Schjelderup's effort called Juventus keeper Mattia Perin into action.
Juventus manager Thiago Motta went with the more attack-minded Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah in his back four and lost Pierre Kalulu to injury after 15 minutes, replaced by another midfielder, Manuel Locatelli.
The home side were still reorganising at the back when the visitors took the lead.
Federico Gatti failed to deal with a long Benfica ball forward, allowing Alexander Bah gain possession and nip into the area before squaring a pass to the unmarked Pavlidis who slotted his shot past Perin.
Benfica could have doubled their lead on the stroke of halftime after a sloppy pass from Gatti allowed Pavlidis in for another shot but Perin pulled off a vital save but it didn't spare the home side from getting booed off the pitch at the break.
The hosts looked to be gaining the upper hand in the second half and were pushing for an equaliser but when Pavlidis passed to Kokcu, he took the ball unchallenged into the area and fired low past Perin to wrap up the win.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Istvan Kovacs
UEFA Champions League Standings
| Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | +12 | 21 |
| Barcelona | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | +15 | 19 |
| Arsenal | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | +13 | 19 |
| Internazionale | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | +10 | 19 |
| Atlético Madrid | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | +8 | 18 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | +8 | 16 |
| Lille | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | +7 | 16 |
| Aston Villa | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | +7 | 16 |
| Atalanta | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | +14 | 15 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | +10 | 15 |
| Real Madrid | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | +8 | 15 |
| Bayern Munich | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | +8 | 15 |
| AC Milan | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | +3 | 15 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | +4 | 14 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | +5 | 13 |
| Benfica | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | +4 | 13 |
| AS Monaco | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Brest | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 13 |
| Feyenoord Rotterdam | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | -3 | 13 |
| Juventus | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | +2 | 12 |
| Celtic | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 12 |
| Manchester City | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | +4 | 11 |
| Sporting CP | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | +1 | 11 |
| Club Brugge | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -4 | 11 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | -7 | 11 |
| VfB Stuttgart | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 10 |
| Shakhtar Donetsk | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -8 | 7 |
| Bologna | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -5 | 6 |
| Red Star Belgrade | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -9 | 6 |
| SK Sturm Graz | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | -9 | 6 |
| Sparta Prague | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | -14 | 4 |
| RB Leipzig | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -7 | 3 |
| Girona | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -8 | 3 |
| RB Salzburg | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | -22 | 3 |
| Slovan Bratislava | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -20 | 0 |
| Young Boys | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -21 | 0 |
UEFA Champions League News