Benfica holds off Monaco in six-goal thriller
Source:Â http://richportaltv.com
A below-average Benfica secured their spot in the Champions League last 16 by holding off Monaco’s valiant comeback in an exciting draw in Lisbon.
The Portuguese team led 1-0 in the first leg of the playoffs in Monaco last week thanks to a fantastic goal from Vangelis Pavlidis, but the Ligue 1 team was better at the Estadio da Luz.
Before Krepin Diatta caused Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to make an incredible save, Monaco’s requests for an early penalty were turned down.
Despite their slack start, the hosts were gifted a 22nd-minute opener.
Monaco defender Wilfried Singo slipped under pressure and presented the ball to the in-form Pavlidis, who fired across the face of goal for Kerem Aktürkoglu to convert on the slide.
To Monaco’s credit, they bounced back and almost equalized when Breel Embolo’s header bounced off the post and rolled across the face of the goal.
Less than a minute later they got the goal they deserved as former Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino squeezed a shot inside Trubin’s near post.
Monaco should have leveled the tie at 2-2 in first-half injury time, but Embolo spooned his effort over after Maghnes Akliouche put him through.
Eliesse ben Seghir forced Trubin into another excellent stop at the start of the second half, but the Ukrainian goalie was only able to watch as the Moroccan curled a strike into the bottom corner minutes later.
Monaco, however, gave Benfica another opportunity to grab the lead, just as before. After captain Thilo Kehrer kicked the back of Fredrik Aursnes’ leg, Pavlidis scored his sixth goal of the season from the following penalty.
Substitute George Ilenikhena gave Monaco a 3-2 lead with nine minutes remaining in the game, but Orkun Kokcu equalized three minutes later by flicking a precise cross from Alvaro Fernandez past visiting goalkeeper Radoslaw Majecki to guarantee an incredible 4-3 aggregate victory.
Benfica will face either Barcelona or Liverpool in the last 16.