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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

Benfica defended as a unit from the first minute

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.

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