UEFA reveals Benfica’s impressive Champions League record | OneFootball

Benfica drew 0-0 (0-0) in their trip to Turkey against Fenerbahçe. The team takes the tie back to Luz, and history is on their side, as in the 24 occasions when the Eagles drew away in the first leg of a UEFA competition knockout stage, they managed to advance 23 times and were only eliminated once.

Benfica heads into the second leg at Luz with history on their side and all the natural favoritism due to their stature. Fenerbahçe has a notably negative record when drawing at home in the first leg of a UEFA knockout stage. This has happened eight times in history, and they only managed to qualify twice.

The only time Benfica failed to qualify after drawing the first leg as visitors was in the 1974/75 season, 50 years ago, when they also drew 0-0 in the first game but ended up defeated by PSV from the Netherlands at home (1-2) in the Cup Winners' Cup.

Bruno Lage emphasized the importance of bringing the tie back to Luz, and that is exactly what Benfica aimed to do throughout the match. With Ivanovic removed from the starting eleven and Florentino included in the central midfield, the Eagles' coach adopted a more closed and cautious scheme.

The next leg of the knockout stage is scheduled for the upcoming August 27th, Wednesday, at Estádio da Luz. Benfica will host Fenerbahçe with the score at zero and only needs to win the game to secure a spot in the regular phase of the Champions League.

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