Benfica fall to defeat at the hands of dominant Bayern

Benfica were largely second best as they face an efficient Bayern Munich side, who started Benfica's former star Renato Sanches.

It would be unfair to suggest Benfica were completely outclassed, able to remain competitive for the majority of the game and showed good energy in midfield, but Bayern's additional talent ultimately shone through.

Lewandowski got Bayern's first of the night early on, slotting his shot past Champions League debutant Vlachodimos in the Benfica goal.   It was then Renato Sanches who sealed the game in the second half, a goal of his own making. After charging forwards with one of his trademark powerful runs, the like of which we got so used to seeing him perform in a Benfica shirt two seasons ago, he then burst into the box to receive the cross, tapping the ball home.

The result is far from a disaster for Benfica, who likely didn't anticipate getting anything from this clash, and next week's encounter with AEK Athens will be far more important in their bid to advance to the next round of the competition.

This was, however, Benfica’s eighth defeat in a row in the Champions League, having not even scored in the competition in over a year now, their last goal coming in a 2-1 defeat to CSKA Moscow on 12th September 2017.