Despite defeat to Qarabag, Benfica’s Champions League record is nothing new | OneFootball

Although Benfica was surprised by a defeat in their Champions League debut against the modest Qarabag, this is not new for the eagles. It was not the first time that, both in the new format and the previous format, the reds started off on the wrong foot.

According to what was reported by the newspaper Record, in the edition of this Wednesday, September 17, the Clube da Luz recorded its eighth defeat in a debut in the millionaire competition, in the format that has existed since the 1992/93 season, when the competition became known as the Champions League.

In total, and already counting with last night's setback, Benfica has started off losing eight times in the millionaire competition. It all began in the 1996/99 season, with a defeat against Kaiserslautern. However, the negative record would only happen again in the 21st century, with a setback against Milan, in the 2007/08 season.

Then, in the 2014/15 season, the reds were defeated by Zenit. Years later, Benfica had three consecutive seasons starting off on the wrong foot in the millionaire competition, CSKA in 2017/18, Bayern Munich in 2018/19, and Leipzig the following year (2019/20). The most recent defeat was in 2023/24, hosting RB Salzburg.

Several images circulated regarding Rui Costa, who reportedly left the venue immediately, an attitude that did not please the Clube da Luz fans.

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