Benfica maintained their flawless start to the UEFA Champions League by delivering a crushing blow to a lackluster Atletico Madrid, securing a commanding 4-0 victory at home in Portugal.
Bruno Lage’s side, already leading at half-time, took complete control in the second half, extending their lead and handing Diego Simeone’s men their first defeat in 11 games.
The Lisbon-based team, who reached the quarter-finals of this competition just two seasons ago, nearly opened the scoring early on.
Vangelis Pavlidis, rising above Atletico’s defenders, connected with a powerful header inside the six-yard box, only to be denied by a spectacular fingertip save from Jan Oblak, tipping the ball over the crossbar.
Moments later, Fredrik Aursnes tried his luck from distance, but his strike was also well saved by Oblak.
The breakthrough finally came when Aursnes turned provider, threading a sublime defense-splitting pass to Kerem Akturkoglu, who found himself unmarked.
Akturkoglu coolly slotted the ball into the bottom corner, putting Benfica 1-0 up.
It was a rare breach of Atletico’s otherwise solid defense, as the Spanish side had conceded just five goals in their previous ten matches. However, this goal seemed to jolt Simeone’s side into action.
Atletico’s best response came from Samuel Lino, who had two decent chances in quick succession. His first attempt was a shot aimed just wide of the far post, while his second—a header from a promising position—also missed the target.
With half-time looming, Benfica nearly doubled their lead when Pavlidis, despite being off-balance, managed to get a shot off that brushed against the far post.
The hosts didn’t have to wait long after the interval to extend their advantage.
Shortly after the restart, VAR intervened to award a controversial penalty for a foul on Pavlidis. Angel Di Maria calmly stepped up and sent Oblak the wrong way, converting the spot kick to make it 2-0.
The veteran Argentine nearly grabbed another moments later, breaking through Atletico’s backline, but Oblak came to the rescue with another sharp save.
That second goal appeared to drain all fight from Atletico, who looked devoid of ideas in attack and failed to register a shot on target throughout the entire match.
Benfica continued to dominate, and it was only a matter of time before they added a third. Alexander Bah capitalized on a corner from Jan-Niklas Beste, shrugging off his marker and nodding the ball in at the back post, making it 3-0.
As the match slipped further away from the visitors, their defensive woes were compounded.
Reinaldo clumsily fouled Zeki Amdouni in the penalty area, gifting Benfica their second penalty of the night. Orkun Kokcu stepped up and emphatically drilled the ball home, sealing the 4-0 rout.
The victory highlighted Benfica’s imperious form at Estadio da Luz, where they have now won nine consecutive games across all competitions.
Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, continued their miserable run of results in the Champions League, having now won only one of their last ten away matches in the competition.
