4 October 2007, by Marco Pereira

Goal-shy Benfica fall to defeat against Shakhtar

Benfica 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk

It has now been four games since Benfica last won and yesterday they failed to score for the third match in a row. Unless the Eagles end their goalscoring problems fast they could see themselves out of Europe a lot sooner than they had hoped for.

Benfica started the match the brighter of the two teams, looking for that early goal to settle their nerves. Cristian Rodriguez forced Pyatov into making a sharp save in the 3rd minute and Katsouranis followed up with a header one minute later that cleared the crossbar.

Shakhtar then started to mount their own pressure and in the 11th minute and a scramble in the box saw Lucarelli hit an effort that did not miss the net by much. Ten minutes later Cardozo let fly and goalkeeper Pyatov had to use his entire body to prevent the ball from going in.

Di Maria smacks crossbar

Katsouranis had a good chance to score in the 28th minute when he outraced Pyatov to a Rodriguez ball, but the Greek international ran out of real estate to convert the pass into a goal and ended up hitting the side netting. Then it was Di Maria’s turn to hold his head in his hands as he saw his effort crash off the crossbar in the 28th minute.

Just before the interval disaster struck for Benfica. Fernandinho made his way into the box as Brandao intercepted a failed Katsouranis pass and a neat passing movement with Rat ended with the ball fed to an unmarked Jadson, who slotted the ball into the net with Quim out of position.

The second half was just as lively as the first, and Shakhtar almost scored a second goal when Ilsinho intercepted an attempted Edcarlos clearance in the heart of the Benfica box, but shot wide. The visitors were gaining in confidence and Fernandinho came close again in the 68th minute from close range but shot over the crossbar when it seemed easier to score.

One minute later there was an appeal for a penalty for a handball in the Shakhtar area, but the official was having none of it. With time slipping away Cardozo and Katsouranis went close with headers but the Shakhtar net remained intact.

Benfica succumbed to their second consecutive defeat in this year’s Champions League and now face a must-win match against Celtic at home if they want any chance of securing their passage to the knockout round of the competition.

Benfica:
Quim, Nelson (Nuno Gomes, 45), Edcarlos, Luisao, Leo, Maxi Pereira, Katsouranis, Di Maria (Binya, 62), Rui Costa, Cristian Rodriguez, Cardozo
Yellow Cards: Katsouranis (57), Cadozo (69), Cristian Rodriguez (78)

Shakhtar Donetsk:
Pyatov, Srna, Chygrynskiy, Kucher, Rat, Lewandowski (Hubschmann, 86), Ilsinho (Duljaj, 79), Jadson (Castillo, 76), Fernandinho, Lucarelli, Brandao
Yellow Cards: Srna (78), Fernandinho (82), Castillo (83)

Goals:
[0-1] Jadson, 42