The ball – analysis of the Benfica group: Renato and Di Maria in Luz … as well as Messi, Neymar and Mbappe (Champions League)

After defeating Midtjylland and Dynamo Kyiv in the playoffs, Benfica were placed in Group H of the UEFA Champions League. It cannot be said that the Eagles were lucky, as they fell alongside millionaires Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Maccabi Haifa.

From the first pot, one of the strongest teams in Benfica came out: for a long time it had been striving to win the championship, PSG looked fresh this season and went into full throttle, crushing Nantes in the Super Cup (4-0) and passing. The “jump” on Lille (7-1), in the last round of the French first division. After much criticism of Mauricio Pochettino’s playing style, Christophe Galtier came to the bench at Paris Saint-Germain and appears to have given the team a major blow.

The stars that shine most are of course the fearsome Messi, Neymar and Mbappe, in a squad that now includes four Portuguese players. Nuno Mendes, Vitina and Danilo will return to Portugal, and the return to Luz will certainly be special for Renato Sanchez. Sporting star Pablo Sarabia will also return to Lisbon last season. In 2013/2014, Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain also met in the Champions League group: 3-0 victory for the French in Paris and a 2-1 victory for the Reds at home.

At level 2, Juventus climbed to the top of Benfica, allowing another return to Estadio da Luz, in this case Argentine Angel Di Maria, who played for the Eagles between 2007 and 2010. Closed as is Paul Pogba, but the French midfielder is injured, He does not know when he will return to the field.

Massimo Allegri’s team started the first division with a victory over Sassuolo (3-0), but drew in the last game without goals at home against Sampdoria. From the last match with the Italian team, Benfica keeps fond memories, with their epic pass in the 2013/2014 UEFA Europa League semi-finals (2-1 in Luz, 0-0 in Turin).

Finally, Maccabi Haifa, the champion of Israel, came out of the last bet, which reached this stage after being eliminated by Olympiacos (4-0 defeating the Greeks, in Athens, in a match that saw Pedro Martins eliminated from Olympiakos), Apollon Limassol and Estrella Vermelha in the qualifiers.