Benfica through to last 16 after clinging on for victory but Juve out of Champions League

Benfica survived a late scare to earn all three points at Estadio da Luz and secure their place in the Round of 16, but Juventus are out – failing to make the knockout stages for the first time since 2013.

The hosts started the match excellently in Lisbon. Benfica had the majority of possession and looked threatening each time they went forward. Roger Schmidt’s men opened the scoring after 17 minutes when Enzo Fernandez delivered a delicious ball onto the head of 18-year-old Antonio Silva, who became Benfica’s second youngest Champions League goalscorer behind Goncalo Guedes.

Juventus managed to get back into it against the run of play, Dusan Vlahovic headed goalwards following a corner before Moise Kean got the final touch to level up proceedings.

This did not last long though as just a few minutes later Benfica won a penalty after a Cuadrado handball and Joao Mario was on hand to smash Benfica back into the lead.

Rafa Silva got his first of the night ten minutes from half-time with an audacious flick following a brilliant ball from Joao Mario. Then five minutes after the break, Rafa was on hand again, this time clipping over Szczesny in goal to make it 4-1 and seemingly put the game to bed.

That was until young Englishman Samuel Iling Jr came on for Juventus. He made a massive difference for the Italian side who up until this point looked completely dead and buried. The ex-Chelsea youth player provided an assist for Milik to make it 4-2 and was heavily involved when Juventus scored just one minute later through Weston McKennie.

Benfica though managed to hold on to their slender lead and as a result they progress to the knockout stages. Juventus are out of the competition but could potentially drop into the UEFA Europa League should they finish in third place.