Benfica secured their place in the league phase of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday after beating Danish club Aarhus 3-1 in Randers. The result repeated the 3-1 scoreline from the first leg of the play-off tie.
Argentine attacker Gianluca Prestianni scored twice for the Portuguese side, while Rafa also found the net to seal qualification. Rasmus Carstensen scored the only goal for the host team AGF Aarhus.
SL Benfica, based in Lisbon, entered the tie seeking a spot in Europe's secondary club tournament. Danish outfit AGF Aarhus hosted the second leg in Randers, a city in Denmark.
Aarhus picked up the match's first booking on 25 minutes when Mouhammade Camara received a yellow card. Benfica broke the deadlock in the 19th minute when Alexander Bah set up Prestianni at the edge of the penalty area. The forward hit a placed shot that took a deflection off a defender before going in.
Aarhus defender Carstensen was also shown a yellow card late in the first half, receiving his booking in the 45th minute.
Both teams made changes around the interval, with AGF Aarhus bringing on Stefen Tchamche for Janni Serra at half-time. Benfica doubled their lead in the 56th minute through a fine combination on the left between Prestianni and Dahl. Dahl delivered a low cross to the far post, where Rafa turned the ball in left-footed past the goalkeeper.
Prestianni double secures victory
Aarhus pulled a goal back in the 60th minute when Carstensen struck after a bad pass from Tomás Araújo allowed him to anticipate Heorhii Sudakov. Carstensen hit a powerful shot that deflected off Dahl before beating Benfica goalkeeper Samuel Soares.
Prestianni restored Benfica's two-goal cushion just a minute later in the 61st minute with an impressive individual goal. After being played through in depth, the Argentine worked well against an opponent, cut inside, and curled a shot beyond Aarhus goalkeeper Hedenstad.
Aarhus responded with several substitutions. Magnus Knudsen replaced Kristian Arnstad in the 62nd minute, and Sebastian Jørgensen came on for Mikael Anderson in the 64th minute. Benfica coach Marco Silva then replaced Sudakov with Gonçalo Moreira and goalscorer Rafa with Andreas Schjelderup in the 65th minute.
AGF Aarhus brought on Colin Rösler for Luka Callø in the 69th minute. Benfica made further changes in the 74th minute, with Dodi Lukébakio replacing Prestianni and J. Durán coming on for Vangelis Pavlidis.
In the closing stages, Aarhus introduced Frederik Emmery for Gift Links in the 83rd minute. Benfica made their final change in the 84th minute, with A. Circati replacing Lenglet.
Europa League draw details
Following their aggregate victory, Benfica advance directly to the next stage of European competition.
The draw for the league phase of the UEFA Europa League takes place in Monaco at 12:00 pm Lisbon time on Friday.
