With Fenerbahçe looming, Benfica boast impressive European record | OneFootball

Despite the result of the first leg in Istanbul leaving everything open for tonight's match, Benfica enters the field with a record in its favor. That is, only on one occasion have the eagles failed to stamp their presence in the Champions League, in a history of 24 attempts in total.

However, there is another piece of data that can still serve as motivation for Bruno Lage's team. The goalless draw in the first leg in Istanbul, was the 25th draw that Benfica achieved in a knockout round and, to date this result always plays in favor of the reds.

The last time this happened was in the 2011/2012 season, also in a play-off of the Champions League, where the red and whites faced Twente. In the first leg, the team from Luz registered a two-ball draw and, in the following match, stamped their presence in the millionaire competition with a 3-1 victory.

To date, only once has Benfica failed to achieve the much-desired qualification following a draw. The feat happened 50 years ago, in 1975, against PSV. In the quarter-finals of the millionaire competition, the Glorioos drew nil in the Netherlands and lost 2-1 at the Luz Stadium.

Aside from this hiccup against the Dutch team, the Club da Luz has always been successful in its European journey in games where it registered a draw in the first leg. With the reception against Fenerbahçe scheduled for tonight, the Club da Luz seeks to continue this important record and reach the league stage of the Champions.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.