Darwin Nunez on Tuesday headed home in the 77th minute as SL Benfica stunned Ajax to reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, winning the second leg of their last-16 tie 1-0 in Amsterdam to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
The Portuguese side had not managed a single attempt on target until Uruguayan striker Nunez beat goalkeeper Andre Onana to Alex Grimaldo’s free-kick and headed in to silence the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Ajax, who had dominated the first half, could not recover from that blow and go out while two-time European Cup winners Benfica look forward to tomorrow’s draw for the quarter-finals.
Photo: AFP
Having sent Barcelona packing in the group stage, they are to appear in the last eight for the first time since 2016.
The Dutch side’s star striker, Sebastien Haller, was upstaged by the 22-year-old Nunez, as Benfica’s prolific forward found the target for the 26th time in all competitions since the start of the campaign.
“We were not good enough in either box. We should have scored, but didn’t take our chances and then we conceded an avoidable goal,” French-born Ivory Coast international Haller told broadcaster Canal Plus.
“It was the perfect game for them. We leave with regrets, but unfortunately that is football. The team who dominate do not always win. We just have to learn from our mistakes,” he added.
A swashbuckling Ajax side had won all six games in the group stage before twice leading against Benfica in the first leg in Lisbon only to have to settle for a 2-2 draw.
Haller, who has 32 goals in total this season, had scored at both ends in that game and he had the ball in the net in the seventh minute on Tuesday only for the effort to be ruled out because Dusan Tadic was flagged offside in the buildup.
Erik ten Hag’s prolific side, who are top of the Dutch Eredivisie, looked at their best in the first half, but could not find a way through as Steven Berghuis blasted over on the volley from just inside the box.
Ryan Gravenberch then unleashed a superb shot that was tipped over by Benfica goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos, and they did not look as threatening in the second half.
Instead they found themselves behind for the first time in the tie as Nunez struck, and a Benfica team who lie third in the Portuguese league, 12 points behind leaders Porto, held on to join the cream of Europe’s elite in the last eight.
Also on Tuesday, it was:
‧ Atletico 1, Man United 0
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS