Ajax - Benfica: Eagles finally take flight in the Champions League 🦅 | OneFootball

Benfica returned this Tuesday, November 25, to the Champions League, where they visited Ajax's home ground, in a match counting for the fifth round of the league phase. Despite the hostile environment at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the red team, led by José Mourinho, managed to overcome the adversities and triumphed 2-0.

In search of the first points in the competition, after four consecutive defeats, as was the case with the Dutch team, José Mourinho always remained positive about the match. The Special One, facing a balanced opponent, opted for the following lineup: Trubin, Dedić, António Silva, Otamendi, Dahl, Barrenechea, Richard Ríos, Aursnes, Sudakov, Barreiro, and Pavlidis.

At the kickoff, Ajax tried to take control of the match, but Benfica managed to nullify the initial Dutch advances, responding with counterattacks that created some danger. The eagles ended up smiling early, when Samuel Dahl, right at the 6th minute, opened the scoring in Amsterdam.

Until halftime, Fred Grim's team created some complicated situations, forcing a decisive intervention from Anatoliy Trubin to keep the red team's goal unbreached. The score remained unchanged at halftime, with Benfica in the lead.

In the second half, Ajax had more control of the match and more attacking initiative, which allowed the Dutch to create some dangerous situations, forcing Trubin into two great saves. Before the final whistle, Leandro Barreiro stood tall and made an unstoppable finish, making it 2-0.

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