After winning just three points in the first four matchdays, Juventus already had the writing on the wall even before traveling to Lisbon.
But whatever small hope the Old Lady had of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League was dashed at the hands of Benfica, who sealed their qualification, along with PSG, by beating the Italian giants for the second time.
The Eagles were arguably the better team from the get-go, managing to earn an early equalizer via a header courtesy of 18-year-old defender Antonio Silva.
However, Juventus reacted by achieving a quick equalizer after a fight in front of goal and a review of the VAR. Dusan Vlahovic took credit for it.
However, Benfica quickly regained the lead when Juan Cuadrado took a penalty kick after touching the ball inside the box.
Joao Mario converted from the spot and Rafa Silva made it 3-1 before the break with a spectacular shot.
After the break, Rafa pounced on another disastrous defensive error to pass the ball over Wojciech Szczesny and add further suffering to Max Allegri’s men.
The Portuguese had a few extra chances to make the result even more humiliating, but it was ultimately the Bianconeri who attempted a late comeback by scoring twice courtesy of Arek Milik and Weston McKennie. Young substitute Samuel Iling-Junior played a key role in both goals.
However, the resurgence proved to be too little too late as Benfica held on to win 4-3, causing Juventus to pack their bags in the process.
FT | ⌛️ | Full day in Lisbon.#BENJUV #UCL pic.twitter.com/OLTw9sx3pq
– JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 25, 2022
