Only one debacle can prevent Benfica from reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League for the second consecutive season. Roger Schmidt’s side confirmed their status as favorites against Club Brujas with a 0-2 defeat in the first leg and must now complete their classification at Da Luz.
This would be the logical result of a tie reached by two teams in opposing dynamics. Benfica, the remaining leaders of the Primeira Liga, have lost just one of their 41 games this season, including the Champions League, although they went out of the Cup on penalties.
They did not miss Enzo Fernández
Benfica does not blame the departure of Enzo Fernández from Chelsea in January and bases its strength on captain Nicolás Otamendi, champion of the World Cup with Argentina, Florentino, a Joao Mario who exploded as a scorer at the age of 30 (he was 19) and to Gonçalo Ramos, ‘Pichichi’ in his league with 15. The four were warned today of the sanction.
In contrast, Bruges are a shadow of the team that last November passed the group stage as second, leaving Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético by the wayside. Since then he has achieved only two wins in 13 rounds of the Belgian championship, he is fourth, 21 points behind the leader Genk and on Friday he was mocked (3-0) by Oostende, who was penultimate.
Jutglà, stumbled
The arrival of Englishman Scott Parker on the bench in December in place of Carl Hoefkens did not prevent the free fall of a Club Bruges who blamed the scoring drought of the Catalan Ferran Jutglà, who started as a shot after arriving from Barça in summer but slipped to 9 goals in the Belgian league and is yet to score in 2023. His other striker, Danish Andreas Skov Olsen, has been suffering from a hip injury since January
likely lineups
Da Luz, 9:00 pm
Benfica: Vlachodimos; Bah, Antonio Silva, Otamendi, Grimaldo; Aursnes, Florentino; David Neres, Joao Mario, Rafa Silva; Goncalo Ramos
Instructor: Roger Schmidt
The
Club Bruges: Mignolet; Eye, Mechele, Sylla, Meijer; Sowah, Nielsen, Vanaken, Buchanan; Jutgla, Lang
Instructor: Scott Parker
Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey) / VAR: Juan Martínez Munuera (Spain)
The
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
