Champions League quarterfinals beckon for Benfica after away win over Club Brugge

Benfica has taken a serious step towards the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The team of former PSV coach Roger Schmidt already impressed in the group stage by staying ahead of Paris Saint-German and Juventus and was now also too strong for Club Brugge in the eighth finals in the first game: 2-0.

On March 7, the two teams face each other again in Lisbon.

A bigger result would not even have been crazy given the proportions on the pitch. A nice start and a fine phase shortly before the end, that was all Bruges had to offer against the Portuguese leader.

Nevertheless, the Belgians made it to halftime unscathed, albeit with a lot of effort. Moreover, Bruges would have been close to even taking the lead, but Denis Odoi was offside for several centimeters before he saw the ball disappear into the goal via the tangle.

Immediately after the resumption, the Portuguese goal that couldn’t be left out fell anyway. Joao Mário shot a penalty hard via the hands of Simon Mignolet and the underside of the crossbar.

In the closing stages, the damage continued for Club Brugge when Björn Meijer did not act decisively and gave David Neres a free pass to make it 2-0.