Buoyant Basel aiming high during Benfica
A famous last-gasp win on matchday 5 has kept FC Basel 1893 in row for a place in a UEFA Champions League knockout rounds as they interpretation their Group A debate during point-less SL Benfica.
• Michael Lang scored the Swiss champions’ 89th-minute leader opposite territory leaders Manchester United FC final time out, withdrawal Basel on 9 points, turn with PFC CSKA Moskva and 3 behind United.
• That means Basel will go by if they improved CSKA’s outcome divided to United, or if both teams pull or remove due to their higher head-to-head. If CSKA and Basel win, a tip dual will be motionless in a three-way conduct to head, and Basel would be by unless CSKA win by a domain of between 3 and 6 goals inclusive.
• Benfica, who suffered their heaviest UEFA Champions League better in losing 5-0 during Basel on matchday two – also a Swiss side’s record win in a competition – will finish bottom.
Previous meetings
• The teams were also interconnected in a 2011/12 organisation stage. Benfica had a top hand, collecting 4 points from their dual fixtures.
• Goals in any half from Bruno César (20) and Óscar Cardozo (75) gave the Portuguese side 3 points in Basel on matchday three. They finished with 10 organisation after Emerson’s 86th-minute exclusion for a second yellow card.
• The game in Lisbon dual weeks after finished 1-1, Rodrigo giving Benfica a fourth-minute lead before Benjamin Huggel (64) warranted Basel a point.
• The sides during Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on 2 Nov 2011 were:
Benfica: Artur, Luisão, Bruno César, Garay, Maxi Pereira, LuÃs Martins (Miguel VÃtor 64), Witsel, Matić, Aimar (Cardozo 73), Gaitán (Nolito 82), Rodrigo.
Basel: Sommer, Park, Dragović, Abraham, Steinhöfer, G Xhaka (Cabral 81), Huggel, Chipperfield (Kusunga 89), F Frei, Zoua (Pak 90+3), Shaqiri.
• Benfica eventually won a section, going on to remove to contingent champions Chelsea FC in a quarter-finals; Basel finished second in Group C and were beaten by FC Bayern München in a turn of 16.
Match background
Benfica
• The Portuguese side were dominant opposite Swiss clubs before crashing to better during Basel. Their prior record was W3 D3; W2 D1 during home.
• The 2011 pull opposite Basel is a usually time Benfica have unsuccessful to win during home to Swiss visitors. They kick FC La Chaux-de-Fonds 5-0 in a 1964/65 European Champion Clubs’ Cup (6-1 aggregate) and FC Zürich 4-0 in a 1982/83 UEFA Cup third turn (5-1 aggregate) in their other dual Lisbon fixtures.
• Portuguese double winners in 2016/17, Benfica are in a UEFA Champions League organisation theatre for a 13th time – and a eighth deteriorate running. The Lisbon bar finished bottom of their territory in 2014/15 though got to a quarter-finals in 2015/16 and again progressed from a organisation theatre final year, losing 4-1 on total to Borussia Dortmund in a turn of 16.
• Benfica have won usually one of their final 9 European matches, home and away – a 1-0 feat opposite Dortmund in final season’s turn of 16 initial leg – and mislaid a final seven.
• Despite losing 2-1 to CSKA Moskva on matchday one and 1-0 opposite Manchester United in their third game, Benfica have mislaid usually 4 of their final 13 European home games.
• Before this season, 19 clubs had mislaid all 6 games in a UEFA Champions League organisation stage. Benfica would turn a initial Portuguese side to humour that predestine should they remove to Basel.
Basel
• The Benfica success finished a winless run of 9 European matches, home and divided (D3 L6), given a 2-1 home success opposite AS Saint-Étienne on 25 Feb 2016.
• Basel’s final outing to Portugal brought their initial victory, a 2-0 win in Lisbon opposite Os Belenenses in a 2015/16 UEFA Europa League organisation stage. Their prior record was D3 L3.
• The Swiss bar lost their initial divided diversion in Group A 3-0 during Manchester United, though were afterwards 2-0 winners during CSKA Moskva on matchday three.
• The CSKA success finished a six-game winless run in European divided matches (D1 L5); Basel had won 4 of their prior 5 before that sequence.
• Basel competent by winning an eighth unbroken Swiss pretension in 2016/17.
• This is their eighth organisation theatre campaign, and their fourth in 5 years. Last tenure they came fourth in Group A, collecting usually dual points from their 6 outings. Basel final reached a turn of 16 in 2011/12.
Coach and actor links
• Ricky outpost Wolfswinkel played for Sporting Clube de Portugal between 2011 and 2013. He scored a usually idea in a 1-0 Liga win opposite Benfica on 9 Apr 2012, with Luisão sent off late on, and was also on aim in Sporting’s 3-1 home better on 10 Dec that year. His record opposite Benfica with Sporting was W1 D0 L3.
• Van Wolfswinkel also scored dual goals in 4 appearances opposite Vitória SC, afterwards coached by stream Benfica manager Rui Vitória (W2 D2).
• Haris Seferović got a idea and an support in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 4-1 Bundesliga win opposite VfB Stuttgart on 29 Aug 2015; Geoffroy Serey Dié set adult a Stuttgart goal.
• Marek Suchý played in FC Spartak Moskva’s 2-1 home win and 0-2 divided defeat opposite Benfica in a 2012/13 UEFA Champions League organisation stage.
• Jonas was in a Valencia CF side that overturned a 0-3 better during Basel with a 5-0 extra-time home win in a 2013/14 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
• Andreas Samaris was on aim in Greece’s 2-1 better of Dié’s Ivory Coast in a 2014 FIFA World Cup organisation stage.
• Have played together:
Haris Seferović Manuel Akanji, Michael Lang, Luca Zuffi, Renato Steffen (Switzerland)
Haris Seferović Davide Callá (Grasshopper Club Zürich, 2009/10)
Rúben Dias, João Carvalho, Diogo Gonçalves Pedro Pacheco (Portugal Under-19)