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00:00and welcome everybody to our live coverage of this UEFA Champions League
00:06playoff game it's live from Istanbul from the Shukru Sarakolu Stadium that's
00:12the venue is Fenerbahce here in the famous yellow and blue take on Benfica
00:17in the red for a place in the league phase of the 25 26 Champions League who
00:24will it be Fenerbahce or Benfica it's a real heavyweight encounter this and I'm
00:30delighted to have Mark Schwartz alongside me watching on it's an intriguing one
00:35isn't it between two very strong sides with very rich histories I think it's a
00:42tie of the round there's no doubt about that I mean these are two sides that
00:46have got high expectations to be in the Champions League of course we know
00:49Fenerbahce has not been as successful in reaching the group stages of the
00:54Champions League for a number of seasons now whereas Benfica or almost
00:58seasoned campaigners Jose Mourinho says himself in the press conference leading
01:02up to this game that he doesn't lose against Benfica so you know he also
01:07acknowledge that Benfica is a good side and it's going to be a really tough game
01:10but here in Istanbul it's going to be intimidating here they come
01:16lead out by the referee Jan Sido who clutches the football and out into the
01:26arena come these two sides one two-leg tie away from the league phase
01:33early season of course for everybody and there he is Jose Mourinho twice a
01:49Champions League winner as a coach of course first with FC Porto and then with
01:53coming in to Milan
02:23so the two opponents meet many of them will be familiar with each other because there are some
02:41big reputations out there in the starting lineups of both sides let's have a look at the 11 starting
02:50with the home side Fenerbahce Jose Mourinho makes no changes at all to the 11 which won 5-2 here
02:57against Feyenoord in the second leg of the third qualifying round tie that sealed a 6-4 aggregate
03:02win for them it's a really strong 11 as you can see John Duran and Yusuf Nassiri lead the line but
03:08there's a nice mix of youth and experience with Skriniar Fred Nelson Semedo bringing a whole lot
03:15of Naus to proceedings Fenerbahce will be looking to establish a first leg advantage
03:23to take to Lisbon our referee is Daniel Siebert from Germany assisted by his team which includes the
03:34video assistant referee Christian Dingett Jan Seidel and Dominic Schaal are the two assistants alongside
03:42Herr Siebert who has the coloured disc in his hand and soon will be deciding who kicks off and who
03:50kicks which way as the captains come together Niklas Otamendi and Milan Skriniar two central defenders
03:58who've been around the block more than a few times
04:01so Benfica Bruno large their coach two changes to the second leg of their third qualifying round game
04:18that was a 2-0 win over Nice in Lisbon for a 4-0 aggregate win Sheldrup and Ivanovic drop to the bench
04:26Florentino and Kerem Akhtar Kolu come in and Akhtar Kolu will expect a feisty reception I'm sure
04:34because he is a former Galatasaray man and this is a repeat actually of a UEFA Europa League semi-final
04:44Fenerbahce and Benfica going back a bit now in 2013 they met in the semi-finals of that competition
04:51Benfica won it very narrowly though they lost the first leg here by a goal to nil and Benfica went
04:58on to lose to Chelsea in the final that was then and this is now and the stakes are high with the reward
05:11of a league phase place up for grabs for both these sides and that is a very juicy reward indeed
05:19so it's Fenerbahce wearing yellow and blue who get us underway they're kicking from left to right against Benfica
05:33who are all in red Turkey against Portugal Istanbul against Lisbon
05:40Fenerbahce against Benfica Mark Schwartzer alongside me should be an enjoyable tie this
05:46very much so and I think it's going to be a tie that not necessarily is going to be decided in this first leg of course
05:52as we know but it will be one that will be hotly contested for Fenerbahce I think it's so important they get off to a really good start
05:58they'll feel like they'll need something to take to Benfica after this game using this home advantage
06:04I think their last tie when they played final was a great indicator they can score goals they can put teams under pressure
06:10they've certainly got firepower they scored some brilliant goals in the night and I think tonight is a game
06:15that they're going to have to play at their very best to beat Benfica
06:18and this is Skriniar at the back for the home side hugely experienced of course Milan Skriniar
06:27used to ball with a little forward ball
06:31and Benfica with Enzo Berakanea in the heart of their midfield wearing number five spreading it out towards the right hand side and receiving it again
06:43now Sinesh here the Norwegian
06:53whistles from the home fans this is Florentino back into the heart of his defence and Antonio Silva
07:03now Sinesh here with a chance to cross and it's not a bad cross either just the little layoff on the edge of the penalty area
07:09and the first save of the game is made and it's a decent save by Edgar Bayat in the Fenerbahce goal
07:16only two minutes into the game
07:18yeah it's a decent strike from the edge of the box there and the goalkeeper does well
07:22gets behind it very very easily very well watches it all the way and decides just to parry it off away from the danger area
07:29so it's a pretty good save early on in this game
07:31relatively youthful coach Brunelage in the Benfica dugout you have to go back 25 years now for when Jose Mourinho
07:44and a very young coach indeed had his first senior coaching job as the man in charge of Benfica it only lasted 11 games that spell in charge
07:53he was confident even as a very early coach because Mark after 11 games in which they had a good win over sporting he turned around to the president said I need a new contract the president wouldn't give him one and he resigned
08:07yeah that pretty much sums up Jose Mourinho doesn't it I mean he was obviously very very confident he's been a phenomenal manager hasn't he we can't disagree with that I think his record speaks for himself
08:20and I've been very fortunate to have worked under him and I can tell you what he is very special
08:26here's Stringa for Fenerbahce
08:31Archie Brown wearing number 33 on the left hand side with a little layoff
08:39trying to spear it quickly up to Akta Kolu here wearing number 7 for Benfica Turkish International former Galatasaray man as I say
08:50a group by act in the Fenerbahce goal
09:07used to follow the back into Stringa
09:15who was surplus requirements at Paris Saint-Germain the current European champions
09:28this is Sofia Amrabat in the heart of the Fenerbahce midfield
09:35and that's a free kick for a foul by Nicolas Otamendi
09:38yeah Otamendi just got a little bit too enthusiastic there try to get to the ball in front of him
09:49you can see there it's clearly his studs down the back of his leg
09:55and of course the referee is right on the spot and it's an easy decision for him
09:59John Duran felt that
10:12could be an absolutely great signing for Fenerbahce John Duran we know about his goal scoring record
10:17previously in European football with Aston Villa scored a big goal for them in the Champions League last season against Bayern München you'll remember
10:26yeah I think with John Duran it's about whether or not as a starter a regular starter can he find the back of the air at this level
10:33and of course at Aston Villa we saw how well he actually did certainly off the bench a lot of times
10:38so the free kick is curled in by Szymanski Fenerbahce's Polish midfielder
10:46and a little squaring up here there might be a fair bit of this throughout the evening
10:53such are the big stakes here Amar Dedic the Benfica right back getting involved with Archie Brown
11:01waiting for Brown to arrive who then bundled him over sorry it's Jaden Oosterwalder with Dedic
11:09yeah it's a slight overreaction isn't it from Dedic there I mean I think he's the referee was really quick on the spot there
11:16I think they've just got to calm down a little bit the Benfica players because otherwise I think
11:21very quickly they'll find themselves in the book in their fortune it's only happening in the opening five or six minutes or so
11:27the referee's decided to try and get a grip of the game and let things flow a little bit
11:32Trubin's clearance has gone straight out of play
11:39very early stages
11:43Nelson Semedo
11:49Portuguese player against the Portuguese club the 38 time champions of Portugal Benfica
11:56for Benfica
12:10Otomeni
12:13Antonio Silva forward it was over the head of actor Colu his Florentino though for Benfica
12:21this is Dedic
12:24Flederic Oshnes outside him
12:27Florentino again
12:29actor Colu on the edge of the area that's where it's gone it's a nice little touch around the corner
12:33to Pavlides trying to work it back in
12:36to actor Colu it was a promising little angle on that pass as well well defended in the end
12:42yeah it was good defending I think the line was really good as well I thought that if the ball had gone through
12:48probably would have been an offside so the line that Fede Bacir has kept is important try not to drop too deep when Benfica get the possession of the ball there is a tendency to try and drop off create a bit more space but certainly when it's around the edge of the A&Y outbox there you need to keep a higher line
13:05here is Archie Brown playing in front of Jaden Roosterwalder and the two link up quite neatly
13:16it's Fred for Fenerbahce Amra back to Skriniar
13:20Fred again
13:27and he's done well
13:32opportunities down the right hand side here Yusuf and Nasiri on the ball for Fenerbahce
13:38Fred with the layoff to Amrabat
13:42free kick
13:54you can see that when Fenerbahce is in possession there's obviously rely heavily on Amrabat Fred
14:00two very experienced players who have done really well for Fenerbahce Benfica are happy to sit back a little bit
14:06and a minute they get towards the A&Y outbox they look to engage to be aggressive on the front foot just have to be a little bit careful in these opening minutes
14:13this is a pretty long way out Sebastian Szymanski as per usual is over the ball here
14:21and the Ukrainian Trubin is on his toes for Benfica
14:36Szymanski doesn't look put off by the distance from goal but it is a clip into the penalty area which is headed away by Antonio Silva
14:42Antonio Silva
14:47that's well won, Nelson Sameda
14:59Amrabat
15:03String out clip with a bit of back spin away to Nelson Sameda one of those who joined the club this summer
15:20touch off by Fred in field two Amrabat
15:41ten minutes have gone by
15:43Fenerbahce have enjoyed the bulk of possession but Benfica have had the only attempt so far
15:49here is Sufjan Amrabat
15:57Nelson Sameda's cross
16:02here's a corner it came off the defender's head I think
16:04yeah I think it was a really good ball under the box there caused a bit of confusion there
16:08I think it was Nicolas Ottermenti in the end who gets the last touch on the ball
16:12yeah you can see it's actually not Ottermenti at all it just comes off the shoulder of Florentino
16:17and it was because of the delivery the type of delivery whipped in runners into that near post area
16:23that's what caused all the problems
16:25so first corner kick of the game
16:27goes to Fenerbahce
16:29Szymanski is going to take it just as soon as
16:32Daniel Siebert has sorted out
16:38what is a very congested penalty area with four in a line for Fenerbahce
16:42Szymanski with the ball into the near post which is comfortably headed away
16:46slightly disappointing delivery actually Amrabat has lost out there
16:50and Akhter Kolu can turn it square
16:52and Akhter Kolu can turn it square
16:54the missile is gone again
17:06challenge coming in just after the ball had been played really by Akhter Kolu
17:10played almost 200 games for Galatasaray
17:20ping towards Pavlidis that's a Striniar header helped on its way by Fred into Szymanski
17:34Archie Brown here for Fenerbahce
17:38who is an England youth teamer
17:42and Fred's gone to ground
17:44I don't think there's enough in that
17:46home fans would say otherwise
17:48yeah disappointing there from Fred to fall over
17:50in that sort of position he was in such a good spot there
17:52you can see you get Archie Brown run Exum as well
17:55I think Archie Brown did really well in the previous tie
17:57against Feyenoord
17:58was instrumental actually in the dismantling of Feyenoord in that game
18:02and he was making a good run inside
18:04and Fred just couldn't keep
18:06his feet on the ground
18:10Nausnecht for the overlapping Dedic
18:20Clips forward towards Darb
18:24left back
18:28that's a good challenge
18:30having made it
18:32stringy our retreats to his central defensive position
18:36there in a care
18:38Otamendi
18:48well it was Fred going to ground that upped the volume on the Fenerbahce fans' boos and whistles
18:52actor
18:56very optimistically
18:58it's a bobbler that goes well wide of the post
19:00and
19:02referee Daniel Seabert didn't see anything wrong in this
19:04and
19:06rightly so
19:08yeah Fred just loses his footing a little bit doesn't he
19:10maybe there's a little bit of a touch clip
19:12it's Fred himself
19:14well actually clips the defender
19:16as he's running through
19:18it's not it's not a foul
19:20referee again I think was in a perfect position to see that
19:22it wasn't a foul Fred just went down
19:24a little bit easy there and he lost his footing a bit as well
19:26he lost his footing a bit as well
19:38Dahl here for Benfici I have to say that
19:40officials at this level
19:42are so used to dealing with pressure which is put on them
19:46not only by those on the pitch but
19:48by those watching on in the stands and the Fenerbahce fans are
19:52just trying to put a little question mark in the referee's mind
19:56did I get that one right?
19:58they don't seem to think so
20:00well home supporters will always do that won't they
20:02and I think in this stadium right now
20:04it's deafening the whistling every time Benfica are in possession of the ball
20:08and it becomes almost just white noise after a period of time
20:11and the referee will have the same sound as well of course
20:14and he'll be one that just be fully focused on doing his job
20:17and I think so far he's got everything right
20:19Amrabat back to the goalkeeper
20:21okay Bayat with the long clearance away downfield
20:26it was won by Otamendi using his strength to hold off the challenge
20:35just slightly over hit by Richard Rios
20:38and it's going to be a goal kick to Fenerbahce
20:41well one thing's for certain that John Duran's going to know that he's in a game tonight
20:48certainly with Nicolas Altamendi there I mean someone that isn't the biggest as a defender
20:54but certainly makes up for it in terms of determination, aggression
20:58and so we saw there vertical jump is pretty impressive as well
21:02so John Duran is going to have an interesting evening
21:05Richard Rios we saw there in the Benfica red wearing number 20
21:10hasn't had much of a summer he was in the Palmeiras side which had such a good club world cup
21:16move to Europe for the first time in his career
21:22Skriniar cutting that out
21:23Osterwalder Skriniar has lost it here
21:26Aushnes with the ball into the penalty area
21:29or across the penalty area collected by Samuel Dahl
21:32Enzo Berakoneka
21:49Kerimak Tokolu
21:51trying to go outside Nelson Semedo and he has pulled back to a really good position
21:56and well defended by Osterwalder
22:00Osterwalder's timing was perfect, needed to be
22:02because then in that 18-yard box you know that if you don't get that timing right
22:05players are running in from behind, out of sight
22:08you've got to get there to the ball with aggression and making sure you're the first one to it
22:12you're the first one to it and he does it very well
22:22He's on loan John Duran at Fenerbahce from Al Nasser
22:27his goal scoring record in the Saudi league impressive
22:3012 in 18 games for Al Nasser
22:42coming deep Duran to exchange a pass with Skriniar
22:56and now Szymanski
22:59Nelson Semedo
23:05Fred
23:07Brown
23:14trying to go outside of Aushnes
23:17who made half a challenge and Amar Dedic then poked it behind the referee's whistle is gone
23:22there's a high boot in here
23:27it's Dedic and Brown
23:30competing for it, both are hurt actually
23:33hard to say from that angle who caught who but there was maybe a little bit of a later swing from Brown but Dedic is okay
23:48hard to say from that angle who caught who but there was maybe a little bit of a later swing from Brown but Dedic is okay
24:00yeah I think it's Brown who's just clipped Dedic you can see that on his right foot there
24:05and that's why the referee was quick to award a free kick to Benfica
24:10he's always going to give that as a as a from a defending perspective and it was a foul so the referee again is in the right position at the right time
24:17the right position at the right time
24:29Dedic
24:30Fenerbahce
24:35Fenerbahce have not played in a Champions League group or league phase since 2009 it's been a long hiatus which they hope to bring to an end
24:45over these two legs
24:47they'll be slightly disappointed really having to come up against Benfica arguably one of the toughest teams in this stage of the of the qualification
25:02so it does make it certainly from our perspective a very intriguing battle between two really big clubs
25:08really big clubs yeah and Benfica will be feeling exactly the same way about coming up against Fenerbahce of course
25:17that's a good challenge referee has given the free kick he's decided that Darren Akay was fouled
25:23and was fouled
25:29let's have a look
25:33Shemansky
25:35he might have
25:36not sure if it was the first challenge or the second but it's a free kick to Benfica either way
25:40he might have
25:41he might have
25:43he might be
25:44much
25:45he might have
25:46a
25:48yeah
25:4920 played goalless
25:50Pavlidis
25:52yes
25:53Richard Rios infield to Florentino
25:56Antonio Silva
25:57Here's Richard Rios infield to Florentino, Antonio Silva, Dedic can advance here, it's
26:18a good run, Ustavolda came across and judged it really well.
26:24And that'll be a free kick and it might be a yellow card here, it is an early-ish yellow
26:31card.
26:32Szymanski had the ball and he was pulled back and Enzo Baranikea is into the boot.
26:50Well, I think it's a very straightforward one for the referee, slowing down play, you
26:55can see there Fenerbahce were looking to try and break quickly against Benfica, there was
27:00a couple of opportunities for Benfica to try and pose a bit more of a threat, just a couple
27:05of the wrong decisions.
27:14Strong challenge, whistle goes, Fred fouled by Pavlidis, the ball fell to Pavlidis, maybe
27:22it was Richard Rios who made the challenge, it is.
27:26Fred was calling for a yellow card for that as well.
27:30Yeah, you can see why Richard Rios is maybe a little bit frustrated with that decision but
27:36I think any time you kind of step across a player, certainly in midfield makes it a little
27:41bit easier for the referee to make those decisions.
27:43If it was in the aid-in-the-out box it might be a bit more of a tougher call to make.
27:58Stringa in the Serie with the lay-off, and chasing, Trubin read it well.
28:13The referee's giving a free kick, maybe it was a handball, I'm not quite sure.
28:18Yeah, might have been offside possibly, anyway, free kick, Benfica.
28:22Yeah, the game's changed a little bit, we saw Fenerbahce start really well, high energy,
28:29Benfica was happy enough to sit back, now it's kind of flipped, Benfica more in possession
28:35and Fenerbahce are looking to just try and, you know, almost play out like a game of chess,
28:42just waiting for this opportunity, a loose ball like in this instance here where Archie Brown
28:46almost gets that opportunity to hit Benfica on the counter.
28:50Could have been lucky there, Dedic.
28:55And Nasiri is the man down here for Fenerbahce.
29:07That's why.
29:11Yeah, they do hurt, certainly when you're not ready for it, that ball on the side of the face.
29:19Last-ditch defending, just prevented Archie Brown from getting a run on Benfica.
29:32Off to Mendy, too dark.
29:39Pavlidis getting it away to Dedic.
29:42Ausnes is onside here, but Ustavolde is making him pretty impressive first 25 minutes of this game.
29:49From the left side of Fenerbahce is back three, tied he's up.
29:56Amrabat's long ball and Otamendi got it right.
30:08Yeah, his timing really of the game is very good, isn't it?
30:11Nicholas Otamendi, obviously a vastly experienced international footballer played at all levels.
30:16And he got that timing absolutely spot on.
30:20Needed to as well, because Duran was onto it and would have easily have received it had Otamendi not got in the way.
30:26Got in the way.
30:27World Cup winner, Otamendi.
30:41Dhar with the throw.
30:46Japped out to play for another off the right boot of Nelson Cameda.
31:11Antonio Silva with a header, Ausnesh with the touch-off for Benfica to Richard Rios, who wins the throw-in for his side.
31:26Dhar is available left side to Pavlovich.
31:55And that's where he's gone.
32:00It's a late challenge.
32:01That will be a yellow card for John Duran.
32:04It's a poor challenge, that.
32:07Yeah, I think he's, I actually think he's slipped.
32:09He's also claiming, I think he's got, he's just slipped a little bit.
32:12It is a foul.
32:13There's no doubt about it.
32:14And the referee obviously rightly falls out of the card, but I don't think there's any intention there at all from John Duran.
32:19A little bit unfortunate for him.
32:23Baron Ikea certainly felt it.
32:28Well, that's why he slipped.
32:29So he's just slightly overstepped it, hasn't he?
32:32Obviously it's a clear foul.
32:33He steps on his foot.
32:34That is a foul.
32:35There's no doubt.
32:36There's no intent there.
32:37Does the top of the pitch look a little bit powdery?
32:40A little bit, yeah.
32:41I think there's obviously, it's a bit of moisture around as well.
32:43So it makes it just that little bit slipperier.
32:46A good buyer in the Fenerbahce goal.
32:58Two in them all.
33:03Samedo and Szymanski.
33:17I didn't expect an effort at goal from here, but it just could be if Akta O'Kolu or Richard Rios are feeling optimistic.
33:38It's a bit of a glint in the eye.
33:48It's Akta O'Kolu.
33:50It is an effort at goal and it needed dealing with.
33:53It's tipped over for a corner.
33:54That's a good effort.
33:56He did have that look on his eye, didn't he?
33:58He did have a look of...
33:59He fancied himself from that sort of distance.
34:01That would have had to be something very, very special to be the goalkeeper from that sort of distance.
34:06It's a decent enough free kick and an easy enough save for the goalkeeper.
34:09Make sure of it.
34:14Benfica corner.
34:20Akta O'Kolu with the delivery, flicked on very dangerously and Fenerbahce had enough bodies around to deal with it.
34:30And this is Szymanski chasing, but beaten to the ball by Rios.
34:35Forward it goes from Akta O'Kolu.
34:40Frederick Aushness to Richard Rios.
34:43Here's Otamendi.
34:46Antonio Silva.
34:49There's bound to be a certain amount of cageyness.
34:54There's just so much to lose at this stage of Champions League qualifying.
34:59So much to gain as well, of course.
35:00I think it's absolutely enormous for both clubs, isn't it?
35:01To get into the Champions League group stage.
35:02As you know, you've got obviously a minimum of eight games, potentially some big, big opponents.
35:05And also, of course, the opportunity of potentially getting through to the knockout stages, which is always a huge bonus as well.
35:10That's a wayward pass.
35:11That's a wayward pass.
35:12In this series.
35:13That's a wayward pass.
35:15Well dealt with by Dahl.
35:16Well dealt with by Dahl.
35:18Well dealt with by Dahl.
35:19Dahl.
35:20Dahl.
35:21Dahl.
35:22Dahl.
35:53Dahl.
35:54Dahl.
35:55Dahl.
35:56Dahl.
35:57Dahl.
35:58Dahl.
35:59Dahl.
36:00Dahl.
36:01Dahl.
36:02Dahl.
36:03Dahl.
36:04Dahl.
36:05Dahl.
36:06Dahl.
36:07Dahl.
36:08Dahl.
36:09Dahl.
36:10Dahl.
36:11Dahl.
36:12Dahl.
36:13Dahl.
36:14Dahl.
36:15Dahl.
36:16Dahl.
36:17Dahl.
36:18Dahl.
36:19Dahl.
36:20Dahl.
36:21Dahl.
36:22Dahl.
36:23Dahl.
36:24Dahl.
36:25Dahl.
36:26Dahl.
36:27Finnebaccio have done pretty well here, considered a free kick.
36:36Amrabat is very unhappy about that decision.
36:40I don't think Amrabat needs to.
36:42It's a bit of a shove, isn't it?
36:43I don't think he needs to, because he's actually got the positional play.
36:47Instead, there's a blatant shove there, right in front of the referee.
36:52You can plead your innocence as long as you like,
36:54but it was very obvious there was a shove.
36:57Very strong here, Finnebaccio.
37:02Three defeats in the last 23 home European matches only.
37:10Otamendi.
37:20Pavlidis.
37:20Niklas Otamendi.
37:33Enzo Baranacea.
37:38Florentino.
37:44Well, they were behind in possession at one stage.
38:00Benfica, I think they're narrowly ahead at the moment.
38:02It's a pretty evenly poised game.
38:10And Brown has run a throw off Dedic.
38:12Yeah, he can't be a very big threat down the left-hand side, Archie Brown just needs a bit more possession at the moment.
38:19Certainly in the last 15 minutes or so, he's going to do more of the defensive elements of the game.
38:23But if you give him a little bit of space, he can certainly hurt you down the left-hand side.
38:27He's never actually played senior football in his native England.
38:32Lausanne, Ghent and then on to Fenerbahce on his CV.
38:39Amradant, Szymanski, Durant, Brown.
39:00He's still on for Fred.
39:13Amrabat squeezed it through to Szymanski.
39:17He swiveled quickly.
39:20That was a brilliant ball from Amrabat, wasn't it?
39:22On the turn there, two players, he dissects.
39:25Really a tough angle to find his teammate.
39:28That's a brilliant pass.
39:29Ajnes here, Pavlidis is ahead of him, here he is, strong challenge, Srinya, Fredrik Ajnes once again, Richard Rios,
39:59Dalfa Actecolo, Florentino shooting chance maybe, he thought so too, but he got it wrong.
40:27Ten minutes shy of half time, goalless.
40:33It's the only real decent chance from distance, free kick, goalkeeper, Egrubaya had it covered, dealt with it pretty comfortably.
40:43This is this ball from Amrabat which was excellent, into Szymanski, just really nice touch, just couldn't direct it away from the goalkeeper there.
40:52It was pretty straightforward in the end for Trubin just to make that easy save, good signs from Fedovace.
41:00It's their first attempt on target, that from Szymanski.
41:08Florentino into Frederik Ajnes, Dedic for Antonio Silva, Trubin.
41:22Nelson Semedo just trod on it, got away from him.
41:31Former Benfica man, played 65 games for the club at the beginning of his career, Nelson Semedo, before going on to Barcelona.
41:40Stringa.
42:01Slightly heavy touch from Brown, invited the challenge, referee feels that Dedic just slightly mistimed it, so it will be a free kick.
42:10He may have got some touch of the ball, that's why he's complaining, but I think it's a fair, there you go, sees off his shin.
42:16Okay, referee's in a perfect position to make that call, Klim, foul on Archie Brown there.
42:23It's a slightly heavy touch, wasn't it, which invited the challenge.
42:28There's a red blanket in front of Fenerbahce here.
42:32We've already seen once that Amrabat is capable of threading something through a narrow weave, and that's a good ball in.
42:40And end the series header is straight at Trubin.
42:43Two attempts on target now for the home side, both straight at the Benfica keeper.
42:48Yeah, Semedo's ball brilliant once again, really good opportunity.
42:53Just straight at the goalkeeper, nice.
42:55You can see Trubin there, be delighted with that ball, headed straight towards him.
43:01Just seeing as we have a goalkeeper in the room and Paris Saint-Germain would appear to have decided that Donnarumma is not for them, the current European champions.
43:20He's raised a few eyebrows, that decision about Donnarumma, who many people consider to be the best goalkeeper in the world.
43:28I'm wondering whether you would stake your colours to that mast.
43:33Well, I think he's certainly one of the better ones.
43:35There's no doubt about it whatsoever.
43:37I thought his previous season in the Champions League was the best I've seen him play.
43:42He's certainly ranked as probably having the best form or close to the best form of any goalkeepers in Europe this last season.
43:49So it was a big surprise for me to hear that, that PSG looking to offload him.
43:55And I think he'll be a great acquisition to any side that can get his services going forward.
44:02It was magnificent in PSG's Champions League win.
44:07Feels a long way from the Champions League final in season 25-26 anyway.
44:14What a game that was as well.
44:17Well, certainly from a PSG point of view, a neutral watching game of football, that was one of the best.
44:26The final next year will be in Budapest.
44:31That's a good little block challenge and just poked wide via a deflection by Kerem Aktakolu.
44:37It's going to be a corner kick to Benfica.
44:40Never really quite got onto it, did he?
44:42Aktakolu on the turn, trying to hit it on the swivel.
44:45The miss hits it.
44:46I think he's a little bit fortunate to get a corner for it.
44:50Even though it does take, obviously, the deflection, it's more about the miss kick.
44:5616 goals last campaign in what was his first season with Benfica.
45:02John Duran is having something explained to him.
45:06He's already got a yellow card, John Duran, so he'll have to just listen quietly.
45:11With this corner kick.
45:15The goalkeeper came for it.
45:20Not all that convincingly, and I think he'll be quite pleased with the outcome of the goal kick here.
45:30of a goal kick here Otamendi is unconvinced that that's the right
45:35decision yeah I can understand why Otamendi thinks it's a wrong decision
45:41goal can it get someone terribly wrong and I think he's very very fortunate
45:46yeah Antonio Silva's header certainly hit the goalkeeper on its way behind
45:54you could buy it with the clearance that she's put straight out of play into the
46:03last five minutes of this first half
46:16here's a little bit of room
46:19Dahl a little left-footed ball through the legs of the defender but into the
46:27gloves of a group I at yeah disappointing ball in the end from Dahl there was great
46:32opportunity for Fenerbahce to try for Benfica to get some real pressure on
46:36Fenerbahce get a good delivery in the box Dahl just too close to the goalkeeper too
46:40easy to defend against Archie Brown's ball is scooped away Mr. Volta hit it really
46:47well it's a trickier save for Troupie this is super strike yeah very good
46:55strike there from distance it was traveling but still get a view from
46:59behind to see if it's actually swerving a little bit obviously Troubin didn't want
47:04to take any chances with that
47:09Nelson Semedo met Mulder here Fred scooped in and well taken if he'd missed that and
47:18the series was right behind him yeah good goalkeeping coming that near post area
47:22knowing that he can't commit too far but waiting for that cross and when he gets an
47:26opportunity to get there that's what you want from your goalkeeper come out be
47:29commanding I think it's a really good take
47:43Denmark Denic
47:46the pass which was considerably over hit and nowhere near
47:49Vangelis Pavlidis
47:53John Duran's touch Nelson Semedo Fred to
48:06screen yeah and now Amrabat they're very solid middle two aren't they Amrabat and Fred
48:12had two players an enormous amount of experience controlling kind of midfield
48:20players obviously want a lot of ball at their feet want to be able to try and
48:23dictate play at times Benfica have really limited their opportunities is that
48:28shot from distance Troubin watches it all the way most of all that really good
48:34strike but reasonably comfortable for the goalkeeper and I think in a really good
48:38area where he powers it out to away from danger
48:41Brown should be the keepers
48:43John Duran getting involved in a bit of a tussle with
49:01it was Otto Mendy and he's not in the mood to get back to his feet at the moment John Duran
49:07well Mourinho's off down the tunnel to give his half-time team talk some thought by the look of it here it is
49:22yeah I think I think he actually a bit of a forearm a bit of an elbow I don't think there's a
49:28lot in that I think Otto Mendy they're both looking at the ball I don't think
49:32there's a lot in that at all Duran goes down really easily well taken by the
49:38goalkeeper it was a goalkeeper's ball a minute left Archie Brown's boot you'd
49:43expect Troubin to come out and take it which he does very comfortably you can see John Duran
49:48there still feeling the effects of that almost forearm of Otto Mendy which I don't believe
49:56was was intentional at all
50:01John Duran just needs a moment here and a little bit of treatment
50:07second spell at the club for Bruno large
50:19Duran will have to leave the field of play momentarily having had treatment on it and we
50:29move into a minimum of just one added minute at the end of the half of play will restart with
50:37all right
50:41so
50:45you
50:47you
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