Ex-Sporting star scores at Luz, helps humble Benfica in Champions League | OneFootball

Benfica lost in their debut of the 2025/26 Champions League, being defeated at Luz by the modest Qarabag, 3-2. The Eagles were leading the Azerbaijanis 2-0, but allowed a comeback in the second half. Leandro Andrade, a former Sporting player (who will take the field against Kairat) was the scorer of one of the goals.

Just six minutes in, a header from Enzo Barrenechea, after a corner kick, made it 1-0, assisted by Georgiy Sudakov. In the 16th minute, the Ukrainian player found Vangelis Pavlidis, who beat Kochalski for the second time, scoring the Eagles’ second.

It was from a free kick taken on the left that Qarabag would score their first of the night. The Benfica defense failed to clear the ball, Durán cushioned it to the middle where the Cape Verdean Leandro Andrade struck it powerfully into the back of the net. The Azerbaijani side started the second half by equalizing the match in the 46th minute. Great pass from Jankovic behind the Benfica defense for a well-placed shot by the Colombian, making it 2-2 on the scoreboard.

The passivity in defense became evident when, in the 86th minute, Zoubir had all the time in the world to think, found Kashchuk in the box for a quick control and shot to make it 3-2. Trubin was rooted to the spot. Many fans took the opportunity to leave Luz, dissatisfied with the performance and the result.

It should be noted that Leandro Andrade is 25 years old and went through the youth ranks at Alcochete between the 2010 and 2013 seasons. He then joined the youth setups of Farense and Olhanense and Fátima, making his senior debut there. He also played for Cherno More (Bulgaria) before arriving at Qarabag, where he has been since the 2021/2022 season.

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