Benfica beat Brugge to go to the Champions League quarterfinals

• Benfica beat Brugge to go to the Champions League quarterfinals.
• Rafa Silva’s first goal was assisted by Ramos.
• Portuguese legend Eusebio was the last player to accomplish the milestone.

LISBON: Benfica defeated Club Brugge 5-1 in Lisbon on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals 7-1 overall thanks to two goals from Goncalo Ramos.

Rafa Silva’s first goal was assisted by Ramos, who gained worldwide recognition at the World Cup after being chosen for Portugal instead of Cristiano Ronaldo and scoring three goals against Switzerland.

The 21-year-old attacker followed up with two precise goals on either side of halftime to guarantee that the two-time European Cup winners would advance to the quarterfinals in back-to-back campaigns.

Portuguese legend Eusebio was the last player to accomplish the milestone for the team before Joao Mario scored from the penalty spot to score in his fifth straight Champions League game.

Benfica’s David Neres added a fifth goal before Bjorn Meijer scored an incredible late consolation.

Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus were in the same group as Roger Schmidt’s brutal team, which easily dispatched Scott Parker’s inexperienced knockout stage team.

Ramos told, “It´s always good (to score), a striker like me makes a living from that, but the most important thing was that we won and played well,”

“Whoever we get (in the next round), we will play in the same way.”

Benfica has only lost twice this season in all competitions, and they overpowered the Belgian guests early on.

After joining Chelsea in January for a Premier League record transfer fee, Chiquinho has replaced Enzo Fernandez in midfield and is now healthy for the visitors.

Parker chose Noa Lang and Ukrainian striker Roman Yaremchuk to face their previous team in an attempt to pull off an unexpected comeback.

After just two minutes, Joao Mario, who has been in outstanding midfield goal-scoring form this season, scored with a beautiful flicked finish, but the goal was disallowed because of an offside in the buildup.

Meijer then stopped the Portuguese midfielder by clearing his goal-bound shot off the line.

After 38 minutes, Silva gave the home team the lead at Stadium da Luz after being expertly picked out in the box by Ramos.

Silva outperformed former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet with a skillful finish after displaying strong close control to create some space.

Just before halftime, Ramos guided in the second after Joao Mario set him up.

Ronaldo scored twice against Famalicao on Friday to help the league-leading Portuguese team maintain an eight-point lead. He was also influential in the penalty area once more.

The 22nd goal of the season across all competitions was scored by Ramos, who sprinted inside from the left before firing back across himself into the bottom corner, leaving Mignolet with little chance.

Joao Mario, who is on 20, is right behind him and is by far having his best goal-scoring season.

Early in the second half, the 30-year-old midfielder sliced a volley that was just off target.

Brugge, who has now only won two of their previous 17 games, was a surprise in the group stage and assisted in the elimination of Atletico Madrid, but they were dismantled by the Eagles.

Before the hour mark, Alex Grimaldo’s low cross was expertly finished by Ramos for his second goal.

As Abakar Sylla foolishly fouled Gilberto, Joao Mario’s coolly executed penalty gave the scoreboard some shine.

The midfielder’s sixth goal in the competition tied him with Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid for third place, despite the fact that five of those goals were penalty kicks.

The fifth goal was sunk in by Neres on a trying night for Parker and his players, who got one back through Meijer as Benfica shown they won’t be taken lightly in the next round.

Hans Vanaken, a midfielder for Brugge, remarked, “The result affects us hard.

The manner in which it occurred was distressing as well because we allowed the goals to be conceded too easy.

We had a terrific campaign, and you don’t want to end it like that, so I’m emotional.

Also Read

Benfica with one foot in Champions League quarters after beating Club Brugge

Benfica beat Club Brugge 2-0 in Belgium in a Champions League clash....