Istanbul cauldron and red card delay Fenerbahçe v Benfica clash | OneFootball

Back to European competitions, Benfica played this Wednesday, August 20, where they faced Fenerbahçe, a match counting for the 1st leg of the Champions League playoff. In the end of the 90 minutes, Bruno Lage's team, who played the match in Istanbul, returns to Lisbon with a 0-0 draw.

In contrast to the lineups used in the two matches against Nice and against Estrela Amadora, the Setubalense coach surprised the Benfiquistas by betting on the starting lineup of Florentino and Akturkoglu, relegating Franjo Ivanovic and Andreas Schjelderup to the bench. This was the eleven presented by Bruno Lage: Trubin, António Silva, Barrenechea, Aktürkoğlu, Aursnes, Pavlidis, Dedic, Richard Ríos, Dahl, Otamendi, and Florentino.

In a match that seemed to be complicated, the protagonism was divided between the two sides during the first 45 minutes, with both clubs having some opportunities to score. On the home team's side, Nélson Semedo, José Mourinho's reinforcement, put several balls into the Benfica area. Kerem Akturkoglu was a headache for the Turkish defense. The result at halftime was a 0-0 draw.

Just like in the first 45 minutes, the 2nd half was also marked by the balance of the two teams, with both seeking the inaugural goal. However, the task of Bruno Lage's team became even more complicated after Florentino's expulsion, due to accumulation of yellow cards, at minute 71, which forced the Reds to redouble their efforts. Despite the insistence, the nil-nil persisted until the final whistle.

Florentino Luís, the Eagles managed to keep the result open, with the decisions to be made in the 2nd leg match, in Lisbon, on August 27. Before receiving the Turks, the Reds will face Tondela, for the 3rd round of the Liga Portugal Betclic.

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