Magic, Rafa and millions

Benfica secured qualification to the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday with an undeniable and artistic 4-3 victory over Juventus, but the Reds’ perfect night still suffered some setbacks.

Roger Schmidt promised and fulfilled. He said Benfica weren’t playing for a draw and went all out against Juventus on Tuesday. It doesn’t matter that the Italian giant had several players out due to injury, the important thing is that Benfica were once again in command. He put Juventus to a standstill and easily vulgarized the Italian defense.

It soon became clear that the eagles were confident. The heel taps here and there. And the goal ended with a header from the young hero António Silva after Enzo’s cross.

The goal sent the stadium into a frenzy. Painted in shades of red and with chants hinting at Benfica. Juventus managed to respond, however, and Keane’s goal had to be confirmed with VAR. A goal frozen for just a few seconds in the Hell of Light.

In the actions of Orsnes in the penalty area, Cuadrado was forced to touch the ball with his hand. Penalty, which Joao Mario did not forgive.

But the artwork was saved for Rafa. The Benfica winger started the game with a pass to the right for João Mario, who returned the ball into the box. Rafa delivered a mischievous heel kick, leaving Szczesny speechless. The score was 3:1, and only 35 minutes remained on the clock.
And the additional stage began in the same way as the first one ended. With Benfica at the top and the unstoppable Rafa. And let the Italian goalkeeper say so, who saw him do another bad thing, this time when he threw the ball over him after Grimaldo’s assist.

Rafa had everything for the perfect night… but he didn’t want to. Missed a hat-trick and a poker (hit to the post) in sovereign scoring situations. Meanwhile, Juventus were full of pride and scored two goals in a row. First it was Milik (77′) and then McKenny (79′). Benfica ended the game with confidence in their mouths in the face of Italian backlash.

In fact, three minutes of the Italians did not erase a great night for Benfica, who earned 15 million euros.

positive and negative
+ Roger Schmidt is invincible
Roger Schmidt made his 20th official match for Benfica on Tuesday and is still unbeaten (16 wins and 4 draws). On Tuesday, he again taught Allegri a lesson and silenced the arrogance of the Italians, who only reacted in the final part of the match.

-Allegri too bad
Juventus leaves Lush humiliated and with 4 more goals conceded. In the 16 games he has played this season, he has conceded 18 goals and only scored 25. In the Champions League, the numbers are scary. Five games, eight scored and 11 conceded… Too bad.

Arbitration
VAR was precious
VAR played a decisive role in Juventus’ goal, as the referee called offside. The goal was originally awarded to Vlahović, but UEFA switched to Keane. In the penalty area (Cuadrado’s hand), the referee quickly pointed to the mark.

Schmidt “very happy”
“We know that it is very important to reach the 1/8 finals. This was the first target. I am very happy. We still have the last game, we will try to win it, and not just for the record. [de pontos]but also because of the first place in the group,” said Roger Schmidt on Tuesday.

The German has an opportunity to beat the maximum number of points (12) achieved by Benfica in the Champions League 11 years ago. With 11 points, it is enough to beat Maccabi Haifa to score 14 points and set a new record.

1st place in the group is more difficult. Benfica need to show a better result than PSG, otherwise they will be able to make up for the four-goal gap on goal difference.

Works in Luz annoy UEFA
UEFA was annoyed by the fact that Benfica officials were not informed about the work being carried out at the Da Luz stadium, which caused “goal line technology to fail”. The organization expressed its dissatisfaction with the statement, which explicitly identified the vulnerability, saying that as a result, “replace and install a new system by the start of the game” is no longer possible.

Silva opens the stage for Rafa to shine
Rafa – Two goals, the first on an excellent technical level, in a game in which we saw the best Rafa. He just wasn’t perfect because he conceded (more than) two goals. He went to the bows of the fans.
Odysseus – He made two decisive saves. Could have played better on the third conceded goal.
Bach – A very complete game of the Danish International. Ealing went in and out.
Otamendi – Quiet game until 75′, when he had to issue a battle cry.
Antonio Silva – Made it 1-0 and a safe game. He is a Portuguese center forward at his best. World? Fernando Santos will decide.
Grimaldo – Great side game, defense and building. It was two goals.
Florentine – He was one of those who ran the most, cut the most and stopped the Italian game the most.
Enzo Fernandez – He plays a lot with the ball and without the ball, like no one else takes up space. He misses a few passes and is surprised because he’s not used to it.
Orsnes – He was one of the main perpetrators of the massacre between Benfica and Juventus until the year 75.
Joao Mario – The midfielder is completely different, for the better, and this is Schmidt’s merit. Great game and another goal.
Gonzalo Ramos – Not marked, no. But the forward ran a lot. He was the first defender to press and open up a lot of space for… Rafa.
Gilberto – Too much work to stop Ealing Jr.
Neres – Almost scored.
Muse – pressed.
Chiquinho – No time.