Benfica beat Aarhus, all but into the Europa League | OneFootball

Benfica took an important step toward the Europa League league phase by beating Aarhus 3-1 in the first leg of the play-off, played this Thursday at the Estádio da Luz. Rafa Silva opened the scoring after just 2 minutes, Leandro Barreiro doubled the lead in the 31st minute, and Pavlidis wrapped things up from the penalty spot deep into first-half stoppage time. In between, Jorgensen pulled one back for the Danes.

The Eagles were virtually ahead from the start and created several chances in the opening minutes, with Rafa - who was praised by Jonas - scoring on the rebound after Christiansen had saved two previous attempts. The opposing goalkeeper was one of the standout performers for the visitors, denying Rafa a second goal in the 14th minute and then stopping Prestianni again in the 19th. In the 27th minute, he once more got the better of Rafa, while Pavlidis and Prestianni himself also threatened the Nordic side’s goal.

Benfica’s pressure finally paid off in the 31st minute, when Leandro Barreiro appeared unmarked at the far post following a corner and took advantage of a rebound to make it 2-0. However, Benfica dropped the intensity and ended up allowing Aarhus to pull one back in the 40th minute, with Jorgensen taking advantage of a defensive lapse to beat Samuel Soares. Just before half-time, Marco Silva’s team extended their lead again: after VAR intervention, the referee awarded a penalty for a handball by Bech in a challenge involving Tomás Araújo and Pavlidis, and at 45+2', he made no mistake to make it 3-1.

In the second half, the tempo dropped and Benfica had less ability to speed up the match. Aarhus also failed to create any major problems. The result leaves Benfica with a comfortable advantage for the second leg, although the tie is not over yet.

The decisive match is scheduled for next week at Cepheus Park Randers in Denmark. In the meantime, the match against Moreirense, corresponding to the third round of the league, has been postponed until September 9, allowing the Eagles to focus now on finishing the job of qualifying for the Europa League.

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