Benfica defeat Marseille for first leg lead

Benfica will head to France to face Marseille in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final encounter with one foot in the competition's semi-final round after a 2-1 victory over the French club, but they will be disappointed with conceding a goal to the French club when they were in full control of the game in the the first hour of play.

A pair of goals from Rafa Silva and Angel di Maria had the home side up 2-0 early in the second half before Aubameyang cut the lead in half at the 67th mark. Benfica striker Casper Tengstedt will rue a couple of missed opportunities that could have put this two leg contest out of reach, but hence is the game of football.

Roger Schmidt continues to struggle to make adjustments to his tactics after the opposition makes some tweaks to their style of play during the game and his lack of substitution usage of late is definitely a head scratcher especially when players look exhausted on the field. Here is hoping the club can go into France and play like they did the first hour of this contest and not the last thirty minutes.

 

Benfica respond to Marseille police and tell French fans to stay home

Benfica have responded to the Marseille police's actions and have banned Marseille club fans from attending the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final game less than 48 hours before kickoff.

Benfica announced earlier today that, after receiving communication from French authorities, the club's fans would not be permitted to attend the second leg in France. The club pursued the action of canceling the tickets of Marseille fans who were set to attend the first leg at the Estadio da Luz on Thursday after speaking to local authorities.

The club will now reissue the tickets to only club members and has informed the club's fans not to travel to France for the second leg to avoid potential tense situations. Benfica stated that it regrets the decision of French authorities, which calls into question the spirit of the sport.

Benfica season could all be for not with Sporting loss

Benfica suffered a devastating loss yesterday to their archrivals and league leaders Sporting 2-1 after the Lions scored the winner early in injury time. Benfica now sits four points behind Sporting, who can stretch that lead to seven with a victory as they hold a game in hand over Benfica.

With six games left in the season, this kind of lead can turn into an insurmountable amount without a complete collapse by Sporting. Benfica are still alive in the Europa League, but their lack of creativity in recent games does not give fans much excitement that they can do what is required to move past Marseille and into the semi-finals.

The fans frustration with manager Roger Schmidt continues to increase as his lack of in-game adjustments with substitutions or tactics might finally put the German on thin ice with the club's management team as well. Schmidt continues to be outcoached and outclassed in games of importance this season and his stubbornness to constantly play his players out of position proved costly on the opening goal yesterday.

The season is not over and Benfica will do their best to fight until the bitter end, but yesterday's loss has almost hammered the casket shut on the club's season. This is not what you would expect from a club that has the best and deepest squad in the league.