Travel restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic meant that Arsenal was forced to play their home leg of the round of 32 fixture against Benfica at the home of Greek club Olympiakos. But that couldn’t halt the progress of the English side as their key players stepped up at the crunch moments.
Despite trailing by 1-2 until the 66-minute mark, a sensational display of excellent teamwork, tough character, and exceptional capitalization meant that it was the Gunner’s side that progressed to the round of 16 of the coveted UEFA Europa league.
With the aggregate standing at 1-each, Both sides fielded their best XIs, hoping to make early inroads. After a competitive 20 minutes of play, It was Arsenal who stamped their authority with a lovely through-ball from the Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka. The ball perfectly bisected two midfielders before piercing through the Benfica defence, on its way to the Arsenal striker Aubameyang, who made no mistake in putting that ball behind the net and giving arsenal a 1-nil lead.
In the 34th-minute, Benfica had their first real chance when Pizzi whipped in an accurate cross, but Benfica defender VERTONGHEN couldn’t keep the header down, which sailed past the post.
Benfica drew level in the 43rd minute as Diogo Goncalves scored his first-ever goal for the Benfica with a stunning freekick from the edge of the box. The curl and dip of the ball complemented each other perfectly, as the diving Leno had no chance of preventing the ball from reaching the net.
Both the sides finished the first half with one goal each.
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