Benfica endure game to forget, start new season with defeat to St. Gallen | OneFootball

Benfica suffered defeat on their trip to Switzerland, losing 2-1 to St. Gallen in the first leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. The team coached by Marco Silva returns to Lisbon with the tie still open, but needing to win the second leg.

The home side started more aggressively and created several dangerous chances from the opening minutes, taking advantage of the Eagles’ difficulties in taking control of the match. After a few warning signs, Aliou Baldé, in the 37th minute, produced an individual move and curled a shot past Trubin to make it 1-0.

The Reds managed to respond before half-time, at a moment when their opponents looked more comfortable in the game. In the 44th minute, Pavlidis held up the ball and set up Rafa Silva, who found himself one-on-one and finished with class to restore parity, sending the match into the break level at 1-1.

In the second half, Benfica improved and pushed closer to the Swiss goal, but found an inspired Ati Zigi, who denied efforts from Sudakov and Manu Silva. The decisive blow came in the 80th minute, when Tom Gaal appeared completely unmarked at the far post to meet a free-kick delivered by Daschner and make it 2-1.

Until the final whistle, the team in red still tried to find an equaliser, but without success. The Eagles are therefore forced to win at the Luz to stay in the fight for a place in the league phase of the European competition. The match will be played next Thursday, 30 July, at 20:00.

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