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Raul Jimenez’s opening strike on Tuesday wasn’t enough to lead Benfica past Bayern Munich, as the Bavarian side battled back to secure a 2-2 draw and book their place in the Champions League semi-finals.
The Bundesliga giants entered the contest as favourites to progress after a 1-0 win in Germany courtesy of Arturo Vidal, and it was the Chilean who eased their worries by netting a crucial away goal in the 38th minute that Thomas Muller added to after the restart.
Although Talisca scored to secure a draw for the Portuguese club, Pep Guardiola’s dreams of leading Bayern to Champions League remains intact as they are joined by Real Madrid, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the final four.
Things didn’t start well for the Bavarians though as Benfica levelled the tie on aggregate against the run of play. Eliseu fired a hopeful ball into the area that seemed to fool Manuel Neuer, allowing Jimenez to header home to the delight of the home fans.
It was very nearly 2-0 minutes later as the German defence was caught static, however the Mexican striker panicked with the ball at his feet and fired straight at Neuer.
Benfica’s joy would last just over 10 minutes as Bayern levelled the match through Vidal. Ederson’s save fell to the Chilean, who lashed a half-volley from the edge of the area to put the way side on course for a place in the semi-finals.
Any doubts as to whether Guardiola’s men would go through were washed away seven minutes after the restart.
Xabi Alonso’s corner was flicked on by the head of Javi Martinez, allowing Muller to tap home from close range to give Munich a second away goal and the 3-1 aggregate advantage.
Benfica didn’t go away without a fight as Talisca fired home a wonderful freekick with just under 15 minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough to end Bayern’s dreams of claiming a sixth title in Europe’s top competition.
