Anatoly failed to keep a clean sheet, conceding at the end
Benfica started in Champions League 2024/25 with an away win over Red Star — 2:1.
The players of Bruno Lage, who recently replaced Roger Schmidt, scored twice in the first half hour. Both goals were scored with a Turkish passport.
First, Angel Di Maria, who became the fourth South American to play in 15 Champions League seasons (after Lionel Messi, Marcelo and Fernandinho), sent Alexander Ba into the penalty area, who crossed with a ricochet, and summer newcomer Kerem Akturkoglu, after battling with Rade Krunic, pushed the ball into the net.
Then Orkun Kökçü earned a free kick and converted it himself with a perfect strike.
Benfica then played according to the score. Crvena Zvezda attacked a lot, but rarely brought things to the point of immediate danger at Anatoliy Trubin’s goal, and when it was necessary, the Ukrainian played without complaints.
And yet the hosts managed to open the scoring, opening up the Eagles’ defense in the center: Milson masterfully used a pass from Sherif Ndiaye. This was the first and last shot on target by the Serbian team in the entire second half.
In the second round (early October), Red Star will travel to Inter, and Benfica will host Atletico.
- Champions League. 1st round
Red Star – Benfica — 1:2 (0:2)
Goals: Milson, 86 – Akturkoglu, 9, Kekcu, 29
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
