Benfica a suffered a second straight loss in the Champions League after a deserved 1-0 defeat against Bayern Munich.
The Bavarians were dominant from start to finish at Allianz Arena and could have easily won by a healthier margin.
The German club got their goal in the 67th minute, Leroy Sané and Harry Kane combining to set up Jamal Musiala who headed past Anatoliy Trubin.
Bruno Lage’s defensive tactics didn’t have the desired effect in Munich, his team a shadow of the side that regularly boss the ball against inferior opponents in Portugal.
Bayern Munich had all the ball in the early stages, Benfica happy to sit deep and absorb pressure. The Bavarians continued to probe for opportunities as the Portuguese club were unable to get out of their own half.
Bruno Lage was an animated figure on the touchline, continually giving his players instructions as they struggled to adapt to an unfamiliar back three formation.
The Benfica supporters were making themselves heard inside a dull Allianz Arena where the Bayern ultras took the evening off. The noise the Portuguese supporters were creating was doing nothing to help their players on the pitch.
Bayern started to turn up the heat after 30 minutes with shots being fired at Anatoliy Trubin, Harry Kane wasting the best chance after hitting a weak effort straight at the increasingly busy goalkeeper.
Harry Kane and Serge Gnabry tested Trubin before Orkun Kökçü put the ball into the net at the other end. Manuel Neuer ventured over the half-way line and played a hospital pass to Alphonso Davies, the goal ruled out after Zeki Amdouni’s dumb foul on Davies.
Bruno Lage made two changes at the break, Issa Kaboré and Amdouni making way for Jan-Niklas Beste and Vangelis Pavlidis.
The second half started with Tiago Araújo kicking Harry Kane on the edge of the 18-yard box, Michael Olise’s tame free kick providing catching practice for Trubin.
Lage then introduced Ángel Di María for Kerem Aktürkoğlu as Vincent Kompany brought on Leroy Sané for Olise. Sané was immediately involved, his shot slapped away by Trubin before the goalkeeper tipped another of his efforts over the bar.
Sané remained in the spotlight and initiated Bayern’s breakthrough in the 67th minute. His cross was headed back into the danger area by Kane, Jamal Musiala getting in front of António Silva and heading the ball past Trubin.
Kingsley Coman replaced Gnabry before Lage went for broke, bringing on Benjamín Rollheiser and Arthur Cabral for Kökçü and Renato Sanches.
The space opened up with Joshua Kimmich missing the target with the final attempt of the one sided contest. Bayern ended the game as it begun, shutting Benfica down before they had any chance to test Neuer.
Bayern Munich ended the match with 74% possession, 10-0 corners and 24-1 shots which included 10-0 on target. It’s hard to find anything positive to say about the performance of the Portuguese club.
Benfica did well to resist for 67 minutes as Bruno Lage employed a park the bus strategy. His side tried to hit the Bavarians on the counter attack but continually lacked the quality to get into goalscoring opportunities.
Nicolás Otamendi, António Silva and Tomás Araújo are not used to playing in a back three formation. Renato Sanches got a start against his former club but was largely ineffective, as was Zeki Amdouni who was hooked at half-time.
It was unusual to see Benfica defending so deep and being completely outplayed. The last time I remember it happening was in March 2022, the fortunate 1-0 win against Ajax in Amsterdam.
Benfica confirmed they are miles behind the best clubs in Europe, especially on the road. The loss comes as no surprise, but the nature of the defeat is unlikely to please the demanding contingent of their supporters who could be ready to start hammering the nails into Lage's coffin.
The Eagles will need to regroup before hosting Porto in the Primeira Liga on Sunday evening.
