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No winner, Wednesday, October 5, between Benfica Lisbon and Paris Saint-Germain, during the 3rd day of the group stage of the Champions League. At Stade de la Luz, Lionel Messi opened the scoring, but the Lisbon team resurfaced before the break. The two clubs remain at the top of Group H, on equal points.
Status quo at the top of Group H. Benfica and PSG are still undefeated, halfway through this first phase of the Champions League, vintage 2022-2023. And they still occupy the first two places, qualifying for the round of 16. Neither of these two teams took over the other on Wednesday October 5 in Lisbon, despite the intentions displayed on both sides.
In a packed and very hot Stade de la Luz, the clash between the co-leaders of group H kept almost all its promises. The atmosphere was there, the talent too. Gianluigi Donnarumma was the first to show off with two good saves in the first 20 minutes. Two important interventions before the Parisian offensive trident adds its stone to the building.
>> Relive the liveblog of the Benfica-PSG match on France 24
Messi isn’t enough
PSG opened the scoring on their first chance. And what action from its stars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. The first, well in legs, began an offensive and found the Frenchman. He passed the leather on to the Brazilian No. 10 who immediately served Messi on a platter. At the entrance to the surface, the Argentinian brushed a splendid curled shot which left no chance for Odysseas Vlachodimos, the Greek goalkeeper of Lisbon (22nd).
With now 127 goals in the Champions League, Leo Messi is approaching the record of 141 units held by Cristiano Ronaldo. And the “Pulga” has one more victim on its list: Benfica is the 40th team against which the striker has scored a goal in the most prestigious of European competitions.
The Parisians, however, did not reach the break with this 1-0 advantage. The Lisbon people resurfaced when Danilo Pereira deflected a worked cross from Grimaldo (41st) into his own net. Decidedly, Paris is unable to keep its clean sheet in the Champions League this season.
In the second half, the French champions kept control of the ball and got the best chances, without managing to force the lock. Neymar, with a daring acrobatic return, hit the crossbar (49th), and Kylian Mbappé, less visible than his teammates in attack, was defeated by Vlachodimos (69th).
This 1-1 draw leaves the two teams at the top of Group H with 7 points, ahead of Juventus (3 points) and Maccabi Haifa (0 points). The PSG-Benfica meeting, at the Parc des Princes on October 11, will perhaps establish a hierarchy in this pool.