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Raphael Onyedika started on the bench as Benfica hammered Club Brugge to advance
Benfica took full advantage of their home turf as they laid waste to any hopes of Club Brugge reaching the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals this season with an emphatic 5-1 victory.
Nigerian forward Raphael Onyedika could only watch on for the opening 45 minutes as his side crumbled away to Benfica to worsen their deficit from the first leg. Ending the first half 2-0 behind on the night, and 4-0 down on aggregate.
Two goals from Portugal’s World Cup sensation Goncalo Ramos, as well as one each from Rafa Silva, Joao Mario and David Neres finished off Club Brugge as Benfica ran riot.
How it happened
Club Brugge were hoping to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg of this encounter against Benfica but were up against it from the very start as Benfica had the ball in the back of the net after only two minutes on the clock in Lisbon.
Joao Mario thought he had given his team the lead on the night with a silky finish from a sweeping Benfica move, but the goal was ruled out after VAR spotted an offside in an earlier phase of play.
Brugge were let off the hook but learnt nothing as they were unable to stop Benfica from piling more pressure on them.
The Portuguese side almost took the lead on several occasions but were denied by their own poor finishing and some last-ditch Brugge defending, especially from Bjorn Meijer, who denied Joao Mario a certain goal.
Despite both sides’ efforts to keep the score at 0-0, Benfica went in front, for real this time, with just over five minutes to go before half-time as Rafa Silva finished off a counter-attack move assisted by Goncalo Ramos.
Ramos turned from provider to scorer for Benfica’s next goal, as the 21-year-old forward scored the goal of the night, dancing around flailing Brugge bodies in the penalty area before shooting low to the goalkeeper’s left to make it 2-0 to Benfica on the night in added time of the first half.
By the half-time break, Brugge were left needing a miracle to qualify for the next round and turned to Raphael Onyedika, who came on for Noa Lang at halftime.
His introduction changed little for Brugge, and they were soon behind by three on the night and five on aggregate as Ramos again stole in at the near post to turn in an Alex Grimaldo cross.
Things got worse for Club Brugge as Ivorian defender Abakar Sylla was penalised for a rash tackle inside the penalty area, and Joao Mario converted the resulting penalty to make it 4-0 on the night.
Benfica were not done yet, and substitute David Neres increased the tally to five after getting a superb assist from 18-year-old midfielder, Joao Neves, who was making only his second appearance in the UCL.
Brugge were able to salvage what was left of their dignity as Meijer managed a consolation goal for the Belgian club as they waved goodbye to European competition for this season.
Benfica advance to next round
Benfica’s 5-1 win on the night and 7-1 aggregate demolition of Club Brugge meant that they reached the UCL quarterfinal in some comfort and can continue their impressive journey in Europe that has already seen them top a group that included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.
Man of the Match
Benfica’s 21-year-old sensation Goncalo Ramos continues to raise his reputation in the footballing world with yet another impressive display to prove that his World Cup heroics were not just a flash in the pan.
He scored twice and assisted another goal as he helped Benfica to a comfortable win.
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