Real's Minimal Win in Lisbon, PSG Wins Goal Fest in Monaco

(Patria) - A new European spectacle was played tonight at Lisbon's Luz stadium, where Benfica and Real Madrid met in the first leg of the Champions League play-off.

The guests eventually celebrated with a minimal score of 1:0.

The match was significantly different from their clash three weeks ago, when the Portuguese team won 4:2. This time, Real imposed a high tempo from the start and created several very good chances through strong pressing, but without conversion in the first half.

Kylian Mbappé had the first serious chance in the 10th minute, but his shot was stopped without major problems by Anatoliy Trubin. The hosts responded through Araújo, but Thibaut Courtois was up to the task.

Before halftime, Vinícius Júnior and Arda Güler also tried, while Benfica's best chance fell to Fredrik Aursnes, but there was no change in the score, so the teams went into halftime without goals.

The second half brought much excitement. In the 50th minute, Vinícius scored a great goal to give Real the lead, after which there was a brief interruption due to racist abuse directed at the Brazilian footballer. However, the match soon resumed.

Benfica then became more offensive in search of an equalizer, but failed to seriously threaten, while Real could have increased their lead through counter-attacks from Vinícius and Mbappé. The score remained 1:0 for the visitors until the end.

An additional problem for the hosts is the absence of coach José Mourinho in the second leg, as he was sent off in the closing stages of the match.

Bosnian national team player Amar Dedić played all 90 minutes and delivered a notable performance for Benfica.

Real will thus host the return leg next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium with a significant advantage.

An exciting duel between hosts Monaco and the current European champions PSG was played at the Louis II stadium in Monte Carlo, with the visitors celebrating a 3:2 victory after a great comeback.

The match started brilliantly for the hosts, who took an early lead with a goal from Balogun, and the same player doubled Monaco's lead in the 18th minute.

Despite conceding two goals, PSG appeared more dangerous and had a chance to reduce the deficit from the penalty spot in the following minutes, but goalkeeper Kohn saved Vitinha's shot.

Problems for the Parisians continued in the 27th minute when their best player, Dembélé, left the field due to injury.

However, the substitution proved to be a great success, as young Doue reduced the score to 2:1 just two minutes after coming on.

A complete equalizer came at the end of the first half, with a goal from Hakimi.

In the 67th minute, the in-form Doue scored his second goal, giving PSG a complete comeback and a 3:2 lead.

Until the end of the match, the visitors could have celebrated a more convincing victory, but Barcola missed a great chance in the 80th minute.

The score did not change, so PSG travels to Paris with a minimal but valuable victory, where the return leg will be played next Wednesday.

Borussia Dortmund defeated Italian side Atalanta 2-0 at home. The scorers for the home team were Guirassy in the 3rd and Beier in the 42nd minute of the match. Bosnian national team player Sead Kolašinac played the entire match for Atalanta.

In an earlier match (starting at 18:45), Galatasaray convincingly defeated Juventus 5-2 in front of their fans, thus gaining a significant advantage before the return leg in Italy.