Benfica drew (0-0) at Bologna on Wednesday in their sixth Champions League match. Pavlidis saw his goal disallowed in the second minute, the Eagles still had a handful of chances but Skorupski was huge in the rossoblú goal.
Without a victory in European competition for seven consecutive matches, Bologna went to the Luz with eight changes compared to the team which had drawn (2-2) with the Juventus last weekend. Bruno Lage had no surprises in store, with the return ofOrkun Kokçu instead of Leandro Barreirowho served his sanction against Vitória SC.
Benfica frustrated from the start
Benfica started strong and opened the scoring in the second minute, Angel Di Maria grabbing the ball and throwing Vangelis Pavlidis. The Greek scored but in an irregular position, quickly identified by the VAR.
Bologna reacted in the 5th minute, Giovanni Fabbian taking advantage of a lost ball Florentinobut his shot was deflected. In the 10th minute, the Italians regained the initiative, Thijs Dallinga saving space but freeing upAnatoly Trubin arrived at the feet of the Bologna striker.
Bologna gained confidence, increased the pressure, Lage asked for more support in the stands and, in the 16th minute, Pavlidisr shot over the head, before Di María, in the 30th minute, fired over and gets a corner. In the 36th minute, Aursnes did the same, Benfica benefiting from another free kick which Lukasz Skorupski captured in front of Otamendi.
In the 43rd minute, Benfica finally had a glaring opportunity to score: Alvaro Carreras played on the left flank, crossed and Di María’s shot was saved by Skorupski. In the 45th minute, Carreras did it again, but the full-back shot at Sam Beukema.
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The second half began with a warning for Florentino in the 48th minute and Trubin stood out in the 51st minute by stopping a Dallinga shot that was speeding past Otamendi. In the 54th minute, Di María launched Pavlidis, but the Greek’s shot was weak and easy for Skorupski.
Benfica responded in the 59th minute, Di María serving Alexander Bahwho shot straight at goal while trying to cross, the ball grazing Skorupski’s goal bar. In the 65th minute, Benfica had another scoring opportunity, Aursnes serving Pavlidis who, inside the area, saw Skorupski fly to deprive him of the 1-0.
Benfica pressed higher and higher, with more and more intensity, although they opened up more spaces in defense. In the 72nd minute, Lage renewed the attack with Jan-Niklas Beste et Zeki Amdouni instead of Thank you Akturkoglu and Pavlidis, while you Vincenzo Italiano changed four players at once.
In the 79th minute, Benfica had another chance, Di María’s shot being saved by the Bologna captain, Lewis Ferguson. The next minute, around the same area, Amdouni’s shot went over and Skorupski again intervened. Lage took a risk and brought in Arthur Cabral and Kokçu came out in the 81st minute. In the 88th minute, Italiano made his last change, Tommaso Corazza coming into play in place of the injured Stefan Posch.
In the 90th minute, Skorupski made another high-class save on a powerful strike from Amdouni to keep the score level until the referee’s final whistle, despite six minutes of stoppage time and the huge final pressure from the Encarnados. The result puts Benfica on 10 points ahead of matches against Juventus and Barcelona, while Bologna secures only their second point in the competition.
