Benfica-Juve 4-3: Allegri’s team is out of the Champions League

Fourth defeat in five Champions League matches, and the Champions League adventure ends for Juve. With Benfica it ends 4-3: Vlahovic responds to Antonio Silva, then a penalty from Joao Mario and a brace from Rafa Silva seem to close the match, before Milik and McKennie sign the final 4-3. Now the future could be called the Europa League, but we will still have to wait until the last day of the group stage to see how the head-to-head with Maccabi Haifa will end. After eight consecutive qualifiers in the knockout phase, Juve will stop in the groups, as they have not done since the 2013-14 season, with Conte on the bench.

Advantage Benfica

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Juve have two heavy absences per department: Bremer and De Sciglio behind, Pogba and Paredes in the middle, Chiesa and Di Maria in front. Against Benfica there are two novelties in the starting eleven: on the left in the three-man defense, Gatti plays, after a slight hip injury that stopped Alex Sandro at the last minute, while in front of Vlahovic’s shoulder is Kean and not Milik, with Cuadrado and Kostic covering the wings and Locatelli directing. The Portuguese, never defeated this season in 19 games played and victorious in the comeback against Juve in the first leg, respond with a captivating and pungent 4-2-3-1, capable of spectacular plays grafted onto a clockwork organization. The result is a first half of great intensity, in which Benfica have been the masters, with Juve pale sparring partner. The bianconeri held up in terms of rhythm and physique, but initiative, ball possession and danger are all of the Portuguese brand. Rafa Silva immediately makes it clear that he is in a great evening: dribbling, acceleration, acrobatics, suggestions and conclusions, his repertoire is complete and spectacular. But around him Benfica moves in unison, playing the same score with great rhythm and intensity. And in the 17th minute he took the lead, with a close header from 18-year-old Antonio Silva on an assist from Fernandez.

Juve reaction: Vlahovic’s goal is not enough

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Juve, which until then had never finished towards the opponent’s goal, reacts with pride, with Kostic who at 21 ‘puts an inviting ball in the small area, spiked by Danilo: Vlahovic, Vlachodimos and Kean rebound him and they contend for it, until it ends up on the net but the var stops everything. Offside or not? The goal-line technology is not there tonight at da Luz, but the consultation ends with the confirmation of the validity of the blue’s goal: the match restarts from 1-1. But immediately changes its characteristics again: in the 26th minute Cuadrado touches his hand in the area and the Serbian Jovanovic awards the penalty. Joao Mario, who had already scored from the spot to the first leg, takes charge of the serve and displaces Szczesny with his third goal in 5 Champions League matches. Juve earns a corner thanks to a good number of McKennie, then it is Kostic who packs one of his many crosses, with Vlahovic not finding the mirror from an excellent position. And relentless comes the Portuguese trio: in the 35 ‘low cross by Joao Mario for the rushing Rafa Silva, who overcomes Szczesny with a heel. The Lusitanian ballet does not stop: changes of pace, constant search for numerical superiority, seamless insertions follow one another in an incessant game that knows no pauses. Juve looks, tries to participate, with Kean screwing up, touching his heel and sending a shiver down the back of the hosts, but remains powerless in the face of such a demonstration of strength and effectiveness.

In the second half comes poker, but …

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Milik’s entrance at the beginning of the second half goes unnoticed, also because after five minutes Benfica is still scoring, again with Rafa Silva, able to pack a lob on Szczesny’s exit, turning a Grimaldo filter into a goal: the Portuguese is in the fifth assist in the Champions League. It is 50 ‘, and the Portuguese siege shows no sign of abating. Allegri sends Alex Sandro and Miretti onto the field to replace Bonucci and Cuadrado, then Szczesny saves in two halves on Ramos. At 77 ‘the turning point, signed by Iling-Junior, fresh from his debut in Serie A against Empoli and recently entered the field at Da Luz in place of Kostic, together with Soulé for Vlahovic. From an assist from him comes the goal of 4-2, with Milik good at scoring with a left-footed shot, and from his cross-shot, two minutes later, the 4-3 signed by McKennie is realized. Now the game is going crazy, with Ramos who misses a goal, Rafa Silva who comes out embraced by an ovation, and Juve who in the end must bow, but with the pride of having given everything, at least in the final 20 ‘of this match .