FC Basel gave Manchester United a torrid time at Old Trafford but Benfica had no trouble whatsoever in dispatching their Swiss opponents St Jakob-Park. The Portuguese team went ahead in the 20th minutes through an absolutely wonderful goal. Although it was finished by Bruno Cesar, it was really made through great work by Nicolas Gaitan and a deft dummy from Rodrigo, which allowed Gaitan’s cross to find the feet of the waiting (and totally unmarked) Bruno Cesar, who wasn’t about to miss from 12 yards, no matter how hard Basel goalkeeper Yann Sommer tried to stop it*.
FC Basel Vs. Benfica, 2011 UEFA Champions League: Benfica Win 2-0 But Mexi Pereira Injury Mars Victory
*Not very hard.
From there, the match was fairly straightforward. Benfica soaked up some pressure from Basel and then struck once more through substitute Oscar Cardozo, the striker putting his free kick straight through the wall and into the back of Sommer’s net. The game went downhill from there, however - first Maxi Pereira was stretchered off in the 78th minute with what looks like it could be a bad injury and then Emerson went and got himself sent off a few minutes later after fouling Xerdan Shaqiri.
So, Benfica earn an important win and top the group at the halfway mark, but at what cost?
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