Vargas blasts a promising free kick into orbit as Anderlecht's last chance dries up. What a finish for Benfica though, from nearly conceding a late goal to lose 3-2, to getting what seems like the winner!
90'
Rodrigo has scored a goal for Benfica! Assist by M. Sulejmani.
OFFSIDE! GOAL RULED OUT! Mbemba though that he had scored his second, but he was a yard or so off from Mitrovic's flick on! Good decision from the officials!
BENFICA SCORE! WHAT A MASSIVE GOAL!!!!!
Rodrigo has done it! Out of nowhere! He uses his pace to attacks Anderlecht on the break beautifully, and advances on goal. His shot takes a deflection through the legs of the keeper, and goes in!
89'
Ivan Cavaleiro enters the game and replaces L. Marković.
88'
A. Mitrović gets yellow.
MITROVIC! How did he miss that! Bruno's cross was pinpoint, and the striker rose well, but misses the target with his header!
87'
Rodrigo enters the game and replaces E. Pérez.
86'
Benfica now pushing for the winner with news of that Olympiakos goal. Anderlecht have not abandoned their attacking instincts though, it's a grandstand finish!
84'
A howl goes up amongst the away fans as news filters in that Olympiakos have EQUALIZED against PSG in France!
82'
LUISAO! The defender times a superb run into the box, latches onto a great ball, but gets his finish horribly wrong, heading wide from point blank range! That should have been in!
80'
Well now, it's going to be a one way siege in the direction of Artur's goal for the remainder of the game! Anderlecht are staring elimination in the face, and need another goal to keep their hopes of the next round alive.
Minute
Description
79'
Almedia shown a yellow card for fouling Vanden Borre, who was looking to overlap once again.
78'
André Almeida gets yellow.
77'
M. Bruno has scored a goal for Anderlecht! Assist by A. Vanden Borre.
YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER! Anderlecht secure a vital goal, as the impressive Vanden Borre motors down the flank and angles a pass in that Bruno stabs home!
75'
The home crowd becoming very frustrated with their side's inability to make inroads in the attacking third. Will the hosts get their heads up, or will they retreat further into their shell?
73'
R. Vargas enters the game and replaces B. Nuytinck.
72'
M. Sulejmani enters the game and replaces N. Gaitán.
A raft of substitutions have further stagnated this game, and we'll probably see Benfica shift into an even more defensive lineup.
69'
It's becoming harder and harder for Anderlecht to get themselves in position to score, as Benfica have isolated their wide players remarkably well. Time starting to run out for the hosts.
67'
Gaitan with a nasty challenge, high and late, and is lucky, because that could have been a straight red on its own!
65'
Luisao tries his hardest to win a header against Kouyate, and does just that, but can't get any direction on it and it sails over the bar.
63'
The pace of the game slowing down to that of a turtle, which, with Benfica in front, will suit Jorge Jesus just fine.
60'
LIMA! Not a bad attempt! On his left foot, with his first touch, he bends one in at goal, but it sails just over the top. Proto looked to have had it covered though!
58'
We haven't seen much from Anderlecht in this half, a far cry from their highly impressive opening half an hour. The match turning into trench warfare at the moment.
56'
Acheampong! His pace is causing real problems off the bench, as he gets in behind Luisao, only for Pereira to cover excellently for his captain and hack the ball clear!
55'
F. Acheampong enters the game and replaces O. Deschacht.
54'
Now then, the group is finely poised as it is! Benfica hold a tenuous lead, and in the other match, PSG are still a goal up on Olympiakos, but Verratti has been sent off!
52'
C. Mbemba is unfortunate, scores an own goal!
MBEMBA SCORES AT THE WRONG END!
Gaitan turns brilliantly inside the box and fires a shot at goal. The effort is heading well wide, but Mbemba unfortunately deflects it goalwards with his knee.
50'
Benfica seeing most of the ball in this second half, but Anderlecht are pressing them hard.
49'
B. Nuytinck gets yellow.
48'
Nuytinck is booked for cynically halting a Benfica break by fouling Gaitan.
46'
We're back in action.
45' +1
After barely a minute of injury time, the referee signals for the interval.
44'
Mbemba covers well against the run of Markovic, as Matic tries to slide in an outside of the boot cross into the box on the counter. Anderlecht need to see this half out!
42'
Gaitan is absolutely furious with Perez for over-hitting a pass, when he had made a run in acres of space in the box. Poor vision and execution from Perez there.
40'
Benfica seeing plenty of the ball so far, and are slowly penning the visitors deeper and deeper in their own half. No sign of a second breakthrough yet though.
38'
KOUYATE! The defender-cum-midfielder beats Artur in the air, but the keeper, caught in no man's land, is relieved to see the ball sail over the top!
36'
Some scrappy fouls breaking up what has been a thoroughly enjoyable pace of the game so far.
34'
N. Matić has scored a goal for Benfica! Assist by E. Pérez.
BENFICA TIE IT UP!
Matic has scored his first ever Champions League goal! The ball is played in from Perez, and Matic uses his formidable frame to leap and nod the ball into the far side. Some Benfica players were offside from that set piece, but not Matic, and that's what counts.
33'
Artur strides out bravely to punch the ball clear, but he needn't have, as Benfica pull off an exquisite offside trap, this time intentionally, and catch no less than four Anderlecht players in illegal positions.
32'
Gillet hooks a high pass over the top for Vanden Borre, who wins a corner out of sheer hustle off Luisao.
30'
Bruno booked for a handball, though he was attacking the ball in the opposition half. Perhaps a tad harsh to award the yellow card, but there you go.
29'
M. Bruno gets yellow.
28'
DISALLOWED GOAL! Mitrovic has the ball in the back of the net, but the Benfica defence unwittingly played a perfect offside trap, and the effort is chalked off.
26'
Gaitan bends a ball into the box menacingly, and it just misses Markovic at the far post. Warning sign for Anderlecht there.
24'
Benfica have turned it around somewhat here, managing a strong spell of possession. Though their buildup play has been rather ponderous, they crucially have taken the action away from their own goal.
22'
Things looking good for both sides as PSG are holding a 1-0 advantage against Olympiakos at the Parc des Princes. No prizes for guessing who scored.
20'
Anderlecht needed to fight for their lives today, and haven't the Belgian side come out to play! They've kept the visitors under supreme pressure for most of the opening exchanges, and are excellent value for their lead.
18'
C. Mbemba has scored a goal for Anderlecht! Assist by F. Nsakala.
ANDERLECHT IN FRONT!
The resulting corner is not properly cleared, and N'Sakala slides a through pass back into the area, where Mbemba gets ahead of Luisao and scores via a slight deflection off the same player!
17'
And here he goes! Mitrovic storms down the right hand side, holds up and waits for support, which arrives in the form of Bruno. The midfielder slashes one in at goal, which Artur pushes away!
15'
Anderlecht bossing things here in the opening quarter of an hour. Mitrovic, their 19-year-old tank of a striker, has been bothering the centre backs incessantly.
13'
Keep an eye on Vanden Borre tonight. The right back seemed to have the world at his feet as a prodigious teenager at Anderlecht in 2007, but a move to Serie A saw his career fizzle out at Fiorentina and Genoa. He's since bounced around at Portsmouth and Genk, but he's back at his old stomping grounds, though his chances of making the Belgium World Cup squad are slim to none.
11'
Gillet shows great strength and footwork to hold up a pass from Mitrovic, and he squares to Vanden Borre about 10 yards behind. The ball is played right back into the Anderlecht skipper, but on the turn, he can't sort his feet out in time for a shot.
9'
Luisao penalized for a foul on Mitrovic, after clambering all over the young forward's back on a challenge for a high ball. The free kick comes into the box, but Luisao makes instant amends by heading clear the ball.
7'
The hosts on the attack, and Artur needs to sprint far off his line to stop N'Sakala's advance down the left hand side. Risky, but ultimately effective goalkeeping.
5'
The match starting to open up as the flanks are beginning to be more utilized. Anderlecht looking very promising on the ball.
3'
Rather nippy and niggling start to the game, with a few fouls preventing matters from really kicking off. The tension perhaps getting to both sets of players.
1'
Here we go folks. Anderlecht get us going.
Greetings one and all, and welcome to Anderlecht's clash with Benfica, and another night of Champions League action. I'm Keeghann Sinanan, your guide for all the action.
Anderlecht drag Kouyate forward from his usual centre back role to take the place of the suspended Kljestan. Proto also returns to mind the net for the hosts, after falling to injury during his warmup for matchday two.
Benfica meanwhile see Fejsa start in the middle of the park, providing a more defensive option than Djuricic, who incidentally scored against Anderlecht on the opening matchday.
So much riding on this game for both sides, as really, anything less than a win might be the end of their respective European campaigns. Anderlecht, with only a point, need to win their remaining two games and hope for a huge swing in results, while Benfica, three points behind second placed Olympiakos, are practically gunning for the same thing on their end, though with four points, the odds are higher in their favour.
All square at the half, a result that does neither side any good at this point. It's been a thoroughly open and enjoyable contest so far though, and you can't really find injustice in the current scoreline. It's all set up nicely for the second half, as both sides need all three points, so stay tuned!
A huge, huge win for Benfica, thanks to Rodrigo's late, late goal off the bench. That win is now made doubly important thanks to PSG's late goal in France to go 2-1 over Olympiakos! The Portuguese side live to fight another day, but Anderlecht are eliminated, a hard result for them after they fought for their lives to the bitter end.
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