Benfica scrape draw with Hearts but book Europa League play-off (1-1) | OneFootball

Benfica drew 1-1 with Hearts this Thursday, August 13, in the second leg of the third qualifying round of the Europa League. Holding a very comfortable advantage from the first leg (6-1), the Eagles did just enough and secured their place in the competition’s play-off round, finishing 7-2 on aggregate.

Marco Silva’s side started on the front foot, largely thanks to the runs of Jhón Durán, who was selected by the Benfica coach in the starting XI. Benfica created several chances, with the best of them falling to Dedic, who headed against the bar in the 36th minute.

The same cannot be said of the second half. Benfica’s attacking output dropped sharply, and Calvin Miller even managed to put the ball into Samuel Soares’ net in the 54th minute, but the goal was ruled out for offside. The warning was not in vain, as Thomas Magnusson put the Scottish side ahead (77'). The Eagles did not take long to respond, and straight after the restart Lukebakio restored parity (78').

Thanks to the 'thrashing' in the first leg, Benfica therefore booked their place in the Europa League play-off, where they will face Denmark’s Aarhus, who were eliminated in the third qualifying round of the Champions League by Azerbaijan’s Sabah. The first leg is scheduled for August 20 at the Estádio da Luz.

Before that, the Reds will be back in action next Monday, August 17. Benfica will face Casa Pia in a match valid for the second round of the Liga Portugal Betclic, with kick-off scheduled for 8:15 pm in Rio Maior.

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