João Neves enters the game and replaces João Mário.
FULL-TIME: CLUB BRUGGE 0-2 BENFICA
Benfica make a change with a matter of seconds remaining. Joao Mario, who scored Benfica's first goal, is replaced by Neves.
90' +1
Guedes looks to add a third to put the tie beyond Brugge, but lashes a shot wide from outside the box.
90'
There will be three minutes of added time.
88'
David Neres has scored a goal for Benfica!
GOAALLLL! NERES SCORES! 2-0 BENFICA! The substitute doubles Benfica’s lead. Aursnes curls the ball in from the left wing. Meijer is there but fails to deal with the ball, allowing Neres to win possession and direct a shot into the bottom corner.
86'
Outside the box, Neres plays the ball to Joao Mario who curls an effort wide of the post. He has his head in his hands, but the flag goes up for offside with Neres the culprit.
84'
Brugge are putting on the pressure in the final few minutes. The addition of Jutgla has given them a target in the middle of the box, with Lang and Buchanan stretching the pitch.
82'
Vlachodimos fails to deal with Lang's inswinging free-kick, with Guedes back to clear the ball away from danger. The goalkeeper punched the ball into the middle of the box and needed the striker to deal with it.
80'
Benfica seem happy with their lead. The defence is remaining inside their own half, with Bah and Grimaldo taking less risks going forward.
79'
Ferran Jutglà enters the game and replaces K. Sowah.
78'
Parker is making a change to the Brugge attack. Sowah comes off and is replaced by Jutgla who will play through the middle.
Minute
Description
76'
Joao Mario's corner is cleared behind by Buchanan who is there to help out with the defensive effort.
74'
Neres plays a short pass to Bah who chips the ball across the box. Over the heads of Brugge defenders, it also goes beyond Aursnes who was rushing in to get on the end of the cross.
72'
Good defending from Brugge. Outside the box, Neres chips the ball down the left flank with Grimaldo vollying it across the box. In the middle, Chiquinho takes a loose touch before shooting, allowing Onyedika to get back and turn it behind.
69'
On the break, Neres comes forward with the ball. Down the right flank, he has options in the middle, but decides to cut it back across the outside of the box. However, nobody is there, and Brugge have possession back.
67'
Lang has completed 12 dribbles in this match, the most by a player in a Champions League game this season. However, a lot of them have become quite predicable. The winger keeps moving inside with the ball where the pitch has become crowded.
65'
Gonçalo Guedes enters the game and replaces Gonçalo Ramos.
C. Nielsen enters the game and replaces D. Odoi.
David Neres enters the game and replaces Rafa.
Brugge are making a change of their own. Odoi, who thought he had given the home side the lead before the flag went up for offside, is replaced in the midfield by Nielsen.
Benfica's second switch is also a straight swap. This time it is at striker, with Guedes coming on for Ramos who won the penalty earlier in the game.
Schmidt has decided to make two substitutions with Benfica in the lead. Neres started instead of Rafa in the previous game, and will now replace him in this one.
63'
Chiquinho's corner is cleared away by Odoi with Benfica now looking to build from the back.
61'
Switching to the right, Lang looks to play the ball over to the left with Buchanan waiting. Ready for it, Bah gets across to chest it back to the goalkeeper.
59'
Brugge have looked bright since going behind with Lang attempting to go past defenders on the left. However, the final product continues to let them down, with crosses into the box being cleared away with ease.
57'
Brugge have faced five different Portuguese sides in European competition (Boavista, Porto, Maritimo, Sporting Braga and Sporting CP), despite this being their first meeting with Benfica. They have lost four of their last five such matches against Portuguese opposition (W1).
55'
Ramos goes down under the challenge of Mechele next to the corner flag. He looks straight at the assistant referee, who gives a goal-kick.
53'
Lang's free-kick from the left is claimed by Vlachodimos.
51'
Penalty goal scored by João Mário for Benfica!
GOAALLL! JOAO MARIO SCORES! 1-0 BENFICA! Joao Mario converts from the penlaty spot. Shooting to the left of the goal, Mignolet gets a hand on his attempt, but pushes it against the bottom of the crossbar and into the net.
46'
Brugge get the game back under way.
45' +1
HALF-TIME: CLUB BRUGGE 0-0 BENFICA
43'
N. Otamendi gets yellow.
Otamendi is the first Benfica player to be given a yellow card after tripping Lang on the edge of the box. It came after Sowah won the ball off of Aursnes.
41'
Brugge have only looked dangerous on the counter. They have struggled to build from the back with Benfica defending with a solid base. Every time Mignolet has gone long, Otamendi and Silva have been ready for it.
39'
Joao Mario looks to clip the ball into Ramos after moving in from the right, but the striker does not make the run. Mignolet is there, chesting it down and waiting to be pressed by a Benfica player.
37'
Inside the box, Rafa rushes down the right before backheeling the ball to Joao Mario. Unmarked, he curls a cross towards Ramos who heads over. That is the third chance that Joao Mario has created so far.
34'
Bah finds Rafa with a quick throw-in. Inside the box, the Benfica man takes the ball on his chest before unleashing an effort from a tight angle. Ready for it, Mignolet pushes the shot behind.
32'
Outside the box, a powerful effort from Chiquinho is blocked by Odoi. Holding his waste, the Brugge man receives treatment before returning to the pitch.
30'
POST! Another chance for Benfica. A free-kick is played short to Joao Mario who chips the ball into the box. Stretching for it, Rafa's first-time attempt crashes against the outside of the post.
29'
K. Sowah gets yellow.
Sowah is the second Brugge player to be booked after his hand hits the face of Grimaldo.
24'
CHANCE! Huge opportunity for Aursnes to break the deadlock. On the edge of the box, Rafa plays a short pass to Ramos who chips the ball across the box from right to left. With Aursnes open, the winger volleys it wide.
23'
Benfica move forward with pace. Otamendi breaks down the middle with Brugge men happy to let him run forward. Playing a throughball down the right to Joao Mario, the former West Ham man drives it across looking for Ramos, but Mechele slides in to intercept his pass.
19'
Sowah receives the ball just outside the box on the right, cutting inside before crossing it into the box. Buchanan is in the middle, but the ball in is poor, with Silva there to head it away.
17'
Meijer goes down the left before cutting the ball back into the Benfica box. Lang is there and strikes an effort towards the goal, but his attempt is blocked. Goal-bound, it wouldn't have counted anyway, with the flag up for offside.
15'
After sitting back in the opening exchanges of the game, Brugge have started to become more confident going forward. When breaking into the Benfica half, Mata and Meijer have looked to overlap Sowah and Buchanan to create options going forward.
11'
Good work from Lang. The Brugge attacker cuts inside from the left, gliding past a couple of defenders before shooting well over from outside the box.
10'
Bah sends a long ball down the right looking for Ramos but puts too much power on the pass. Mignolet comes out to collect it.
9'
D. Odoi gets yellow.
Odoi receives an early yellow card after a late slide tackle on Grimaldo who tapped the ball past him.
7'
Benfica are confident in possession of the ball with Brugge picking their moments to press. Stuck near the corner flag, Aursnes' clearance is blocked by Sowah and goes out for a throw-in.
5'
Buchanan rushes down the left flank, carrying the ball along the byline inside Benfica's box. With nobody to support him, his shot from a tight angle is blocked by Vlachodimos.
3'
The away side have controlled possession in the opening few minutes, passing the ball around their defence waiting for an opening to appear.
Benfica have the first chance of the game. Chiquinho's inswinging corner is kept alive by Otamendi, with the captain knocking it back towards the Brugge goal. In the middle of the box, Ramos tries to flick a header past Mignolet, but the goalkeeper makes a simple save.
1'
Benfica get this Champions League clash under way. Rafa has the first touch.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of this Champions League fixture, as Club Brugge host Benfica in the first leg of their last-16 clash.
Brugge finished above Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid to secure second place in Group B and qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in their history. The Belgian outfit led the group after winning their first three games, scoring seven goals without conceding. However, after drawing two and losing one of their final three games, they were pipped to the top spot by Porto, who finished just one point above them.
Group H ended dramatically, with Benfica thrashing Maccabi Haifa 6-1 to overtake Paris Saint-Germain and claim first place. Level on 14 points with 16 goals scored and seven conceded, the Primeira Liga outfit finished above PSG because they had scored more away goals. Benfica are unbeaten in their last seven matches in the Champions League (W4 D3), winning each of the last two in this season’s group stage. The last time they won three in a row in the competition was in the 2005-06 season under Ronald Koeman.
CLUB BRUGGE SUBS: Josef Bursik, Ferran Jutgla, Mats Rits, Casper Nielsen, Dedryck Boyata, Antonio Nusa, Roman Yaremchuk, Abakar Sylla, Cisse Sandra.
CLUB BRUGGE (3-4-3): Simon Mignolet; Clinton Mata, Jack Hendry, Brandon Mechele; Denis Odoi, Raphael Onyedika, Hans Vanaken, Bjorn Meijer; Tajon Buchanan, Kamal Sowah, Noa Lang.
BENFICA (4-2-3-1): Odysseas Vlachodimos; Alexander Bah, Antonio Silva, Nicolas Otamendi, Alejandro Grimaldo; Florentino, Chiquinho; Joao Mario, Rafa, Fredrik Aursnes; Goncalo Ramos.
BENFICA SUBS: Samuel Soares, Andre Gomes, Gilberto, Lucas Verissimo, David Neres, Goncalo Guedes, Casper Tengstedt, Andreas Schjelderup, Petar Musa, Joao Neves, Morato, Julian Draxler.
Despite putting the ball in the net, Brugge have struggled to create chances from open play. In possession, they have found it difficult to move into Benfica's defensive third, with Florentino and Chiquinho breaking up the play well. When going long, they are also being dominated physically, with Silva and Otamendi winning every aerial battle. Their best chances have come from breaks forward where they have caught their opponents out of position. For Benfica, they have done everything but put the ball in the net. They have looked dangerous going forward, with the Brugge defence constantly running back when Rafa and Joao Mario have been in possession of the ball.
That's all for today, goodbye.
Next up, Club Brugge travel to Cercle Brugge in the Pro League, with Benfica hosting Boavista in the Primeira Liga.
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