Benfica bundle Juventus out of Champions League, Messi powers PSG to knockout stage

Benfica defeated Juventus 4-3, while PSG thrashed Maccabi Haifa 7:2 for both teams to book their spots in the round of 16.

Victor Olorunfemi • October 25, 2022

Benfica and PSG

Juventus crashed out of the ongoing UEFA Champions League with a devastating 4-3 defeat at the hands of Benfica in their penultimate group H match on Tuesday night.

The Old Lady had struggled recently to find their best form and needed to win the crucial match to keep their hope alive of scaling through to the knockout stage.

But Benfica, who needed the victory to seal their round of 16 spot, gave the Italian giants no chance.

António Silva gave the Portuguese side just 17 minutes into the encounter but they barely enjoyed the lead as Moise Kean equalised for Juventus a few minutes later.

João Mário returned Benfica into the lead from the spotkick before Rafa Silva extended the lead seven minutes later as their first half ended 3-1 in favour of the hosts.

Rafa Silva completed his brace in the 55th minute to extend Benfica’s lead.

Arkadiusz Milik halved the deficit in the 77th minute and barely two minutes later, Weston McKennie scored to reduce the hosts’ lead to one goal.

Rafa Silva had the glorious chance to complete a hattrick when he went one-on-one from a counterattack but his effort struck the post as he went one-on-one against goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny.

At full time, Benfica walked away with an impressive 4-3 victory.

The defeat sent Juventus out of the competition and will have to win their last game of the league to have a chance of securing a spot in the UEFA Europa League.

Meanwhile, victories for both Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain ensured that both teams advanced to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League.

Elsewhere, Lionel Messi scored a brace as PSG thrashed Maccabi Haifa 7-2 at Parc des Princes in the other fixture of the group.

Messi opened the scoring before Kylian Mbappé doubled the lead in the 32nd minute.

Three minutes later, Neymar netted PSG third of the game before Abdoulaye Seck pulled one back for the visitors but Messi returned the hosts three goals lead with his 44th minute strike.

Five minutes into the second half, Seck scored his second of the night to half the deficit for the Israeli club, but another goal by Mbappé and an own goal by Sean Goldberg made it six for PSG.

Carlos Soler’s 84th minute goal sealed a 7-2 victory for the French giants.

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