Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa: Positive start for Vlachodimos’ team

His Benfica Odysseus Vlachodimus He needed it for a half, but in the second part he improved, he found two goals, one of which he presented as an early candidate for the end of the year and prevailed 2-0 she Maccabi Haifa for the 8th group of the Champions League.

The Israelis looked the “eagles” in the eyes, although an impressive atmosphere had been created in the packed “Luz”. The ball was in front of the home team’s feet, but Maccabi’s massive five-man defense worked reasonably well for a half.

Indeed, early in the 2nd half, Vlachodemos had to stop Franzi Piero in a back four (at a stage when they were offside anyway), sacrificing his physical integrity. All is well in the end, however, as the Greek goalkeeper also returned and his team-mates took the lead.

In the 49th minute Alex Grimaldo crossed from the left, Rafa Silva made it 1-0 from close range, five minutes later the Spanish winger converted one of the most beautiful goals of this year’s tournament.

With a 2-0 win, Benfica cleared the field and created more chances to score without risking in defence, although the score didn’t change in the end.

Benfica: Vlachodemos, Bach, A. Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo, Luis, Fernandes, Neres (65′ Oursnes), R. Silva (79′ Gonsalves), Mario (79′ Siquinio), Ramos (46′ Musa)

Maccabi Haifa: Cohen, Sudgren, Batubinsica, Cech (67′ Podgoreanou, 78′ Menachem), Goldberg, Muhammad (32′ Abu Fani), Lavi, Seri, David (46′ Ajili), Piero (78′ Rukavicia), Khaziza

The results of the 1st round

The ranking of the 8th group

The program of the 2nd game day