Benfica's Zenit late show wins quarter-final spot

Published: Wednesday 9 March 2016, 19.59CET

Zenit 1-2 Benfica (agg: 1-3)
The tie was heading for extra time when Nicolás Gaitán headed in a decisive equaliser, Talisca's 96th-minute winner adding insult to Zenit injury.

by Richard van Poortvliet

from Stadion Petrovskiy

Highlights: Watch dramatic late Benfica win

MATCH STATISTICS

Zenit

Benfica

Goals scored

Possession (%)

Total attempts

on target

off target

blocked

against woodwork

Corners

Offsides

Yellow cards

Red Cards

Fouls committed

Fouls suffered

461

Passes

361

391

completed

297

	Zenit		Benfica
1	Lodygin (GK)	1	Ederson (GK)
2	Anyukov 58	5	Fejsa
6	Lombaerts	7	Samaris
7	Hulk 69 90+5	10	Gaitán (C) 85
8	Maurício 82	11	Mitroglou 36 67
9	Kokorin 58	14	Lindelöf
10	Danny (C)	17	Jonas 90+2
13	Luís Neto	19	Eliseu
22	Dzyuba	21	Pizzi 49 73
28	Witsel	50	Semedo
81	Zhirkov	85	Renato Sanches
Substitutes
41	Kerzhakov (GK)	13	Paulo Lopes (GK)
14	Yusupov 82	9	Jiménez 67
17	Shatov 58	18	Salvio 73
19	Smolnikov 58	20	Gonçalo Guedes
24	Garay	28	Sílvio
52	Ivanov	30	Talisca 90+2 90+6
92	Dolgov	66	Rúben Dias
Coaches
André Villas-Boas (POR)		Rui Vitória (POR)
Referee
Viktor Kassai (HUN)

Details

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Last updated: 09/03/2016 22:08 CET

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MATCHES

8 March 2016

9 March 2016

Zenit		1-2		Benfica
Chelsea		1-2		Paris

15 March 2016

16 March 2016

All matches

Nicolás Gaitán strikes five minutes from time to decide the tie
Benfica through to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2012
The Portuguese side have won 15 of their last 16 games
Hulk's 69th-minute header briefly levels matters on aggregate
Quarter-final draw at 12.00CET on 18 March in Nyon

RELATED ITEMS

Nicolás Gaitán nodded in the rebound after a fantastic effort from Raúl Jiménez five minutes from time as Benfica booked a return to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of hosts Zenit.

The round of 16 tie was set for extra time after Hulk's header cancelled out the first-leg deficit, with Artem Dzyuba almost grabbing a second for André Villas-Boas's men following a mazy run, being denied by the excellent Ederson.

Instead Raúl turned his marker and unleashed a shot that Yuri Lodygin did well to tip onto the bar. Benfica captain Gaitán was on hand to turn the ball in and six minutes into added time Talisca rubbed salt into Zenit wounds.

Both back lines were ravaged by injury and suspension, with midfielder Andreas Samaris a shock starter at centre-back for the visitors. Yet defences held sway for the first hour. There was plenty of intent from Zenit, but it was measured nonetheless – trailing 1-0 from the game in Lisbon, they could not afford to concede an away goal.

First-leg highlights: Jonas winner

Dzyuba was the hosts' most potent threat, flashing an early effort wide. Gradually, though, Benfica's rearguard, featuring goalkeeper Ederson on his UEFA Champions League debut, found some cohesion and Samaris shone, a natural with seemingly his own gravitational pull for crosses.

Zenit responded by committing more men forward, and Ederson had to be alert to deny Dzyuba and substitute Igor Smolnikov. At the other end Jonas, on the counter, wasted the opportunity to earn some breathing space – a miss for which, 21 minutes from time, Hulk made them pay, ghosting in unmarked to head in Yuri Zhirkov's cutback.

It looked to be enough for extra time at least, until Raúl turned the match on its head.

©AFP/Getty Images

Samaris tracks Dzyuba

Key man: Andreas Samaris
With Benfica decimated, coach Rui Vitória deployed Greece midfielder Samaris as emergency centre-half. The 26-year-old came through the examination with flying colours, keeping the likes of Dzyuba at bay and marshalling an inexperienced back line – defensive partner Victor Lindelöf was making just his second UEFA Champions League outing.

Opportunity knocks for Ederson
Júlio César may struggle to get back into the Benfica side at this rate. The veteran has skipped the last two games with a thigh problem and Ederson has – quite literally – grabbed the chance with both hands. A clean sheet in Saturday's derby win at Sporting CP and now a memorable UEFA Champions League debut. The 22-year-old Brazilian may take some shifting.

How far can Benfica go?
Benfica came to the Stadion Petrovskiy vastly understrength and showed exceptional resilience to carve out a victory that takes them through to the quarter-finals. The likes of Samaris, Ederson and the equally exceptional Renato Sanches produced when their team needed it most and showed that Benfica can dig deep in times of adversity.