Benfica and Ajax meet this Wednesday, in a duel valid for the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League. The match takes place at 17:00 (Brasília time), at Estádio da Luz.
Owner of one of the best campaigns of the group stage, the Dutch club arrives with strength for the confrontation. Under the command of Erik ten Hag, the team ran over their opponents in the first stage, ranking first in group C with 18 points. In addition, the team has a goalscorer attack, responsible for scoring 20 goals in the competition.
In great form, the striker Sébastien Haller is one of the main players of Ajax this season. The French-Ivorian has scored 10 goals in the European championship, beating Bayern’s Robert Lewandoswski.
If, on the one hand, Brazilian Antony is another reference for the club, former São Paulo player David Neres is a low point, as he was traded with Shakhtar Donetsk earlier this year.
In addition to the Champions, Ajax leads the Dutch Championship, having a five point advantage over PSV. The team won all the matches it played in 2022, the last of which was against Willem, in a 1-0 victory.
Benfica, on the other hand, is in a troubled situation. The Portuguese surprised in the group stage and, despite not having overcome Bayern, managed to overthrow Barcelona and took the second position of group E, with eight points.
However, the bad results in the Portuguese Championship culminated in the dismissal of Jorge Jesus, former Flamengo coach. The Portuguese saw rival Porto open 12 points in the national tournament and are in third position. The team’s last match was against Boavista, a 2-2 draw.
The Encarnados, then, are being commanded by the interim Nélson Veríssimo, who will remain until the end of this season. The club counts on the good phase of the young Uruguayan Darwin Nuñez, Portuguese top scorer, with 18 goals. On the other hand, Benfica will not have available defender Lucas Veríssimo, ex-Santos, who is still recovering from a knee injury.
Both teams are also looking to overcome the disappointing European campaign in the last year. Ajax, eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League, fell to Roma in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Benfica, in turn, was still defeated in the playoffs of the main continental competition, to PAOK, from Greece, led by the current coach of Palmeiras, Abel Ferreira.
The return game is scheduled for March 15, at 17:00 (Brasília time), at the Amsterdam Arena.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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