Benfica brush aside Aarhus as Prestianni seals Europa League spot | OneFootball

Benfica beat Aarhus 3-1 in Denmark to secure a place in the Europa League league phase. With Marco Silva once again opting for his strongest lineup, the Eagles controlled the tie from an early stage and cruised to a comfortable win, with Gianluca Prestianni the standout performer as he scored twice, while Rafa Silva also got on the scoresheet.

After the 3-1 win in the first leg, the team in red came out determined once again. The goal arrived in the 20th minute, when Rafa Silva switched play and Prestianni, after receiving the ball on the left, struck from outside the box. The ball took a deflection off an Aarhus defender and ended up wrong-footing the opposing goalkeeper.

The home side even briefly celebrated what looked like a possible penalty soon after, for an alleged foul by Enzo Barrenechea on Mikael Anderson, but VAR called the referee over and the decision was overturned. Benfica remained on top and threatened again in the 35th minute, in a move where Pavlidis appeared in the area and forced the opposing goalkeeper into a tough save.

In the second half, the Glorioso maintained control and extended the lead in the 56th minute. Samuel Dahl crossed from the left, the Danish defence failed to clear, and Rafa Silva pounced on the loose ball to fire home across goal for 2-0. Aarhus pulled one back four minutes later, with a shot from Rasmus Carstensen that took a deflection off Dahl and left Samuel Soares with no chance.

In the 61st minute, Prestianni struck again. The Argentine received the ball on the left, cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot for a superb goal, making it 3-1. With the job done, Marco Silva used the closing stages to manage the workload and give minutes to less-used players, including Gonçalo Moreira and Australian defender Circati, who made their debuts for the Eagles.

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