Juventus were sent crashing out of the Champions League with a 4-3 defeat to Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in Matchday 5 on Tuesday. The Bianconeri were thrashed by their Portuguese hosts, as a Moise Kean equaliser after Antonio Silva‘s header was immediately wiped out by a Joao Mario penalty.
With their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, Juventus were undone by a magnificent Rafa Silva brace to put paid to any chance of emerging from Group H.
The Bianconeri fought back late on through goals from Arkadiusz Milik and Weston McKennie, but it was too little too late to keep them in the competition.
Slick Benfica make light work of Bianconeri
Benfica began on the front foot and were rewarded after only 18 minutes, as a short corner allowed Enzo Fernandez to swing in a teasing cross for teenager Antonio Silva to head home.
However, Juventus equalised immediately from a corner of their own, as Dusan Vlahovic met a Danilo flick-on at the back post and Kean was on hand to bundle in. Despite a lengthy VAR check, an initial offside call was overruled and the Bianconeri were back on level terms.
A manic period midway through the first half culminated in Benfica retaking the lead just minutes later after the ball struck Juan Cuadrado‘s hand in the box, and former Inter midfielder Joao Mario drilled an excellent penalty into the roof of the net.
The Portuguese side heaped further misery on Juventus before half-time after a quick counter allowed Joao Mario to drill a cross in, and Rafa Silva‘s exquisitely flicked finish gave Wojciech Szczesny no chance.
Any hopes of an immediate fightback were soon quashed early in the second half when a simple through ball split the Juventus defence wide open, and Rafa Silva coolly lofted the ball over Szczesny. It could have been worse for Massimiliano Allegri‘s side when Silva found space again in the box, but his rasping effort whistled inches over the bar.
Juventus leave it too late
Just as it looked like the Italian outfit were heading out without a whimper, substitute Milik‘s low volley found the bottom corner and Juventus set Portuguese nerves racing with a third immediately after.
Goalkeeper Odysseus Vlachodimos fumbled a low cross and the ball fell to McKennie, allowing the USA international to drill home.
In a thrilling final few minutes, Rafa Silva squandered a glorious chance to kill off the game and seal his hattrick after racing clear from the halfway line, but with the goal at his mercy the striker struck the post.
