A nightmare first 15 minutes in Lisbon tonight saw Benfica concede two penalties and have António Silva sent off, all owing to infantile mistakes.
Nevertheless, trailing by a single goal, 10-man Benfica rallied and created several chances to draw level, only to be let down by more haphazard defending in the second half to allow Salzburg to double their lead.
There was no way back for Benfica, especially given the wonderful performance from Austrian goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, in sharp contrast to a poor display from his opposite number Anatoliy Trubin.
Early penalty drama
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt picked the same XI that had beaten Vizela 2-1 at the weekend.
It meant a first start at the Estádio da Luz for Ukrainian goalkeeper Trubin, but it could not have begun worse for the new Benfica No.1, who missed the ball with his two-fisted punch from an early corner, instead almost knocking out Strahinja Pavlovic. An obvious penalty and a yellow card for Trubin.
Karim Kanoté stepped up and smashed his spot kick over the bar, much to the delight of the home supporters.
João Mário almost gave Benfica the lead in the 12th minute, his shot after a neat move crashing back into play off the post.
The Austrians immediately broke up the other end of the pitch, Bah’s poor back-pass put Otamendi and Trubin under pressure, the ball looping high off the goalkeeper and onto the bar, with António Silva inexplicably swatting away the ball with his arm on the goal-line. Penalty and a red card for Silva.
This time Roko Simic stepped up, confidently converting his penalty.
Di María goes close
A goal down and a man down, Benfica rolled up their sleeves and finally began to play their football. Ángel Di María twice came close to equalising, first denied by Schlager from a 25-yard free kick, with the stopper then producing an even better save to prevent the Argentine from scoring direct from a corner.
The second half started with Benfica still pushing hard for an equaliser, Petar Musa denied by an incredible save by Schlager who got down in a flash to push away the Croatian’s blistering goal-bound shot.
One minute later and disaster struck for the Portuguese champions. Again it was of their own doing. Morato played a loose back-pass enabling a Salzburg break, with Aursnes overcommitting himself, beaten by his man, and suddenly Salzburg had four men bearing down on goal with no defender in sight. A simple pass enabled Oscar Gloukh to roll the ball into an empty net.
Now two goals down, in addition to the player disadvantage, to their credit Benfica kept going in search of an unlikely turnaround.
Alexander Schlager unbeatable
Schlager was having a match to remember though, the Salzburg goalkeeper producing excellent saves to thwart Musa, João Neves and Otamendi.
A night to forget for Benfica in what was in theory their most straightforward fixture in Group D.
“What counts is not how you start, it’s how you end,” said Benfica captain Nicolas Otamendi post-match. The Eagles must now play catchup if they are to equal or better last year’s Champions League exploits.
By Tom Kundert
