Benfica 1 - Milan 1 - Goodbye Champions League

Benfica said goodbye to the Champions League tonight. A tie with Milan and a Celtic win over Shakthar ended up sealing Benfica's Champions League fate. There are very few negative things that can be said about the game or the team's performance, the worst part was really Celtic's result tonight, which ended up being the deathblow to a Benfica who had left themselves in a vulnerable position, after poor results from previous matchdays.

Camacho went with his usual 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1, however you want to see it, and he started:
Quim in goal,
Luis Felipe,Luisao,David Luiz and Leo in defense. Katsouranis and Petit in front of the defense, while Maxi, Rui Costa and Rodriguez served as support for the lone striker, Nuno Gomes.
I had anticipated this line up with the exception of Maxi in midfield. I though that Camacho would opt for Assis, or a more offensive minded player in detriment of Maxi, who would be in the back. He could have very well have gone with Assis, but after seeing Maxi's performance as well as Luis Felipe's in the game, Camacho hit the nail on the head with his choice. Maxi played his best game with a Benfica shirt since arriving in Lisbon while Luis Felipe has been steadily progressing and had a very good performance also. On to the game,
Benfica started the game showing some signs of nervousness and hesitation, almost waiting to see how Milan would set up on the field, in the first 10 minutes Benfica seemed confused and taking too long to sort out their markings, Gillardino could have very well gotten his name on the score sheet 2 minutes in , showing up unmarked on the back post. Seedorf also threatened the Benfica goal 2 minutes later. Milan ended up going 1 up at the 14 minute mark after a good combination between the Milan midfield. Pirlo hit one of his trademark long range line drives that gave Quim no chance. The goal punished Benfica's disorganization up until this point, with Pirlo being able to get a crack at the Benfica goal unopposed. After the Milan goal, Benfica seemed to calm down and raise their level of concentration which up until this point was almost non existent. Benfica started playing their game and created a couple of chances, one of them with Rodriguez just letting himself get anticipated by Nesta as he was about to pull the trigger, granted he was unbalanced. Benfica's tying goal came 5 minutes later, after a good run by Maxi and a superb move to take Gattuso out of his path, Maxi unleashed a rocket, that would hit the upright and make its way around the net and come out on the opposite side. Beautiful goal! It was a clear sign of Benfica's ascension and game domination. Domination that yielded another 2 scoring chances, the first one from a combination between Leo, Rui Costa and Rodriguez, with Rodriguez mis-hitting the ball. The second one, another insistence play started by Leo which ended up at the feet of Maxi via an incredible dummy from Rui Costa and a deadly pass from Nuno Gomes. I though that Nuno Gomes could have gone to goal with that ball, but he decided to pass it to Maxi who saw his shot blocked by Pirlo. Benfica could have very well been up 2-1 at the half way point if it wasn't for the missed chances, but Benfica left for half time leaving everyone in the stadium with the impression they could do a lot more. Ancelotti made one change at half time, putting the veteran, Maldini, on the left side of the defense hoping to shutdown the Maxispressway, but Benfica started the second half in the same manner as they ended the first, controlling, dominating and creating. Milan seemed to be happy with the result and put all of their chips on the counter game which almost paid off towards the end of the game. Camacho made a double substitution to refresh, Cardozo came in for Nuno Gomes and Di Maria, came in for Luis Felipe, while Maxi dropped to right back. Di Maria still had a good shot straight at Dida, as but didn't do much else, Cardozo almost had the winning goal, but he couldn't reach a ball that was played slightly behind him. Camacho used his last substitution to bring in Adu in the 86th minute, not too much time for Adu to work his magic, i even thought he could have came on before Di Maria, as he seems to be enjoying of a better period of confidence then the Argentinian youngster. Game ended 1-1, Benfica had 21 shots against 10 from Milan, 8 of them on goal against Milan's 3. Truth is, Benfica played very well, but needs to put away the chances, that is the big difference between the 16 teams that will be into the next round, efficiency. Benfica thought that everything was still open with Celtic and Shakhtar deadlocked into extra time, but ended up losing all hope as Celtic went up right before the final whistle.

Like i said, very few negative things to point out, lack of efficiency being one of them and pehaps, giving more time to Adu. Other than that, i really liked Benfica's performance, arguably their best of the season. It was the first time the team was at full strength, and even though Petit is not 100% match fit yet, the difference is noticeable. The team has been on a clear ascension and in my opinion has not yet full stride. A performance like tonight's will surely gives 3 points on Saturday.
We are now left to fight for a spot in the Uefa Cup, if we finish 3rd in the group. For that we will have to travel to the Ukraine and beat Shakthar, after tonight's performance i think that it's very possible.


highlights