Birthday boy Oberlin lifts Basel against Benfica

BASEL: Young forward Dimitri Oberlin used a special occasion to inspire Basel to a stunning 5-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League.

On his 20th birthday, the Cameroon-born Oberlin scored twice, had one assist and also earned a penalty as Basel defied a lacklustre start to the season.

Benfica played with 10 men for the last half hour after midfielder Andre Almeida was sent off for jumping into a two-footed tackle that appeared vengeful when losing the ball.

Still, the Benfica defence had already been shredded by slick Basel counter-attacks. The visitors were shambolic when substitute Blas Riveros completed the scoring in the 76th minute, seconds after Basel hit each post with back-to-back shots.

Basel are second in Group A behind Manchester United, who won 4-1 at CSKA Moscow to follow their 3-0 home win over the Swiss two weeks ago.

Oberlin set the tone as the driving force for two first-half goals that finished end-to-end moves he started from Basel’s penalty area.

In the second minute, Oberlin surged in two different phases of an attack that saw him draw goalkeeper Julio Cesar out of position and tee up defender Michael Lang to fire in a low shot.

Basel’s second goal in the 20th started when Oberlin headed clear Benfica’s corner from his own goalmouth and took off sprinting upfield. He collected Renato Steffen’s pass near the Benfica area and slipped a shot past Julio Cesar, Brazil’s goalkeeper at the 2014 World Cup.

It was quite a start for the Switzerland youth international making his first Champions League start on loan from Austrian title-holders Salzburg. — AP