Benfica happy despite defeat
lisbon — From the rapturous reception they received on their return home to the comments from their players and coach, it was clear that Benfica regarded their 1-0 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich as a moral victory.
Bayern had scored 18 goals in their four previous home European games and when Arturo Vidal gave them a second-minute lead in Tuesday’s quarterfinal first leg at the Allianz Arena, the Portuguese champions appeared destined for a long night. Instead, the defensive pairing of Victor Lindelof and Jardel succeeded in doing what few others have this season by keeping Robert Lewandowski off the scoresheet, while full backs Andre Almeida and Eliseu nullified Franck Ribery and Douglas Costa.
Regarded as the rank outsiders among the eight quarter-finalists, Benfica now believe they have at least a chance of pulling off a memorable win when they host the German champions in next week’s sec- ond leg. “Bayern certainly wanted to win 5-0 but we played superbly,” midfielder Nicolas Gaitan told reporters. “We’ll be much stronger in our own stadium, with the backing of our supporters.”
Several dozen fans waited at Lisbon airport to welcome the team home in the small hours of Wednesday morning and more were camped at the Stadium of Light. “The team played to a really high standard, they played with conviction and determination,” coach Rui Vitoria said. —