Benfica 2-2 Bayern Munich: 5 Talking Points
Bayern Munich advanced to the Champions League semifinals after a 2-2 draw against Benfica. Goals from Arturo Vidal and Thomas Muller ensured their passage to the penultimate round on a 3-2 final aggregate.
The Bavarians, chasing a treble of titles, joins Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals. Here are 5 talking points from the game:
Benfica stuck to their 1st leg strategy and it almost paid dividends
Heading into the second leg, Benfica’s Coach Rui Vitória would have been pleased with his side’s first leg performance. They defended as a unit and isolated Bayern’s main man, Robert Lewandowski who hardly had a sniff at goal.
Tonight, the home side were without their main attacking threats in Gaitan, Jonas, and Mitroglou. They have sixty-one goals between them this season but the home side stuck to their 4-2-3-1 formation. As much as they wanted to attack Bayern from the get go, they couldn’t do so for obvious reasons.
As usual, Bayern had a major share of possession which meant the home side had to be patient in their approach. But they were duly rewarded with a couple of well-taken goals. The second one as a result of a sublime free kick from Talisa.
Bayern weren’t necessarily better than Benfica on the night. The home side definitely had more than a sniff but the absence of their regular match winners made it an insurmountable task.