UCL | Benfica 0-0 Bologna: Skorupski neutralises Di Maria magic | OneFootball

Bologna earned a very impressive point with this goalless draw away to high-flying Benfica, as Lukasz Skorupski was decisive to deny Angel Di Maria.

The Rossoblu knew their days were numbered in the Champions League after scraping a point in the opening game, then four consecutive defeats. Injuries were also piling up with Riccardo Orsolini, Charalampos Lykogiannis, Juan Miranda, Michel Aebischer, Oussama El Azzouzi and Niccolò Cambiaghi out of action. Benfica had nine points from five games, but Renato Sanches and Tiago Gouveia missed out, as ex-Juventus veteran Angel Di Maria pulled the strings.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

There was a big scare for Bologna when Vangelis Pavlidis had the ball in the net with a delicate dink over the goalkeeper in the second minute, but he was offside on the Di Maria through ball.

Thiijs Dallinga failed to make the most of a promising run when he tried to go around the goalkeeper, as Anatolii Trubin got a hand to the ball.

Bologna had more of the possession in the first half, but struggled to turn that into scoring opportunities. Instead, Nicolò Casale had to make the desperate block on a Di Maria counter-attack and Lukasz Skorupski had his gloves stung by a ferocious Di Maria volley on the Carreras pull-back from the by-line.

LISBON, PORTUGAL – DECEMBER 11: Giovanni Fabbian of Bologna runs with the ball whilst under pressure from Kerem Akturkoglu of S.L Benfica during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between SL Benfica and Bologna FC 1909 at Estadio do SL Benfica on December 11, 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images)

Dallinga again was sent through by a Stefan Posch ball over the top only to fire straight at the goalkeeper at the near stick after the restart.

Skorupski was a little shaky flapping at a cross from the right, but made up for it with a simply sensational reaction save on the Pavlidis follow-up from point-blank range.

Bologna were furious that Orkun Kukcu avoided a second yellow card for catching the back of Dan Ndoye’s ankle, as the game was increasingly tense.

Lewis Ferguson charged down a Di Maria effort with his chest and Skorupski made another great save on Amdouni to keep the clean sheet for a second point of the Champions League campaign.

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